Rethinking mobility in social theory: Yann Moulier-Boutang and the motor of history
Casas, M., and Cobarrubias, S. (2024) “Rethinking mobility in social theory: Yann Moulier-Boutang and the motor of history,” in European Journal of Social Theory, https://doi.org/10.1177/13684310241270435
This paper argues for reengaging the work on the primordial role of mobility advanced by Yann Moulier-Boutang, especially in his seminal book De l’esclavage au salariat: Economie historique du salariat bride (1998). His re-centering of historicity highlights the transformative potential of human mobility in broader social processes, resonating with the unique readings advanced by W.E.B. Du Bois. We identify how Moulier-Boutang’s emphasis on the long-term effects of human mobility is key to rethink concepts such as agency, social struggles, and controls. This paper introduces this referential theorist to an English-language audience where his work on migration is less known, despite being praised as one of the early founders of a burgeoning tradition known as autonomy of migration. Ultimately, this paper discerns ways in which the autonomous gaze toward migration and border policies substantially contributes to social theory.
This paper argues for reengaging the work on the primordial role of mobility advanced by Yann Moulier-Boutang, especially in his seminal book De l’esclavage au salariat: Economie historique du salariat bride (1998). His re-centering of historicity highlights the transformative potential of human mobility in broader social processes, resonating with the unique readings advanced by W.E.B. Du Bois. We identify how Moulier-Boutang’s emphasis on the long-term effects of human mobility is key to rethink concepts such as agency, social struggles, and controls. This paper introduces this referential theorist to an English-language audience where his work on migration is less known, despite being praised as one of the early founders of a burgeoning tradition known as autonomy of migration. Ultimately, this paper discerns ways in which the autonomous gaze toward migration and border policies substantially contributes to social theory.