André Gorz bequeathed us a rich and complex body of work marked by breaks and discontinuities. It draws its consistency and unity, however, from his philosophical options which form the basis of his socio-ecological reflections. His deepest theoretical impulses are rooted in his double – Sartrean and Marxian – heritage. Gorz’s initial writings were part of Western Marxism which emerged in the post-war years. This school of thought re-theorized issues raised by Marx from an existentialist perspective, whereby an emphasis was placed on the human subject and primacy given to historicity as an irreducible foundation of human reality. This piece is based on particular developments in my book presenting André Gorz as a philosopher and thinker of emancipation.