Raisons d'agir

Raisons d'agir (also known as Éditions Raisons d'agir or Liber-Raisons d'agir) is a French independent publishing house founded in 1996 by the sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. It emerged from the merger of Liber, a journal, and Raisons d'agir, an association of activists and researchers. The publisher is structured as an association and defines its editorial line as presenting "the state of research on current political and social problems." It played a key role in the revival of militant publishing in the 1990s, and its pocket-format collections "Liber" and "Liber-Raisons d'agir" achieved unprecedented success, inspiring other publishers to launch similar militant series. Bourdieu himself supervised the design of the books, aiming for a style that was both "very chic and very radical" — sober, modest, pocket-sized, and affordable. The catalogue includes influential titles such as Pierre Bourdieu's Sur la télévision (1996) and Contre-feux (1998), Serge Halimi's Les Nouveaux Chiens de garde (1997), Loïc Wacquant's Les prisons de la misère (1999), and Éric Hazan's LQR: La propagande du quotidien (2006). The publisher remains active, with recent and forthcoming titles such as Gilets bleus (2025), Unabomber (2025), and Le low cost contre le travail (2026).

Raisons d'agir was founded in 1996 by the French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. It originated from the convergence of two entities: Liber, a journal, and Raisons d'agir, an association bringing together activists and researchers. The publishing house is registered as an association and defines its editorial mission as presenting "the state of research on current political and social problems." It was part of the revival of militant publishing in the 1990s. Its pocket-format collections, "Liber" and "Liber-Raisons d'agir," achieved unprecedented success and triggered a surge in militant collections from other publishers. Bourdieu considered this editorial cell "the most effective instrument of intellectual debate" and personally oversaw the design of the books, wanting them to be "both very chic and very radical" — not looking like a union bulletin, but sober, modest, pocket-sized, and inexpensive. The catalogue includes key works such as Pierre Bourdieu's Sur la télévision (1996) and Contre-feux (1998), Serge Halimi's Les Nouveaux Chiens de garde (1997), Jacques Bouveresse's Prodiges et vertiges de l'analogie (1999), Loïc Wacquant's Les prisons de la misère (1999), Pierre Tevanian's Le voile médiatique (2005), Pierre Rimbert's Libération de Sartre à Rothschild (2005), Éric Hazan's LQR: La propagande du quotidien (2006), and Marie Bénilde's On achète bien les cerveaux (2007). The publisher continues to release new titles, with recent and forthcoming works listed on its website, including Gilets bleus (2025), Unabomber (2025), and Le low cost contre le travail (2026).

• 2026

  Forthcoming: Le low cost contre le travail by Cyrine Gardes.

• 2025

  Publishes Gilets bleus and Unabomber.

• 2007

  Publishes On achète bien les cerveaux by Marie Bénilde.

• 2006

  Publishes LQR: La propagande du quotidien by Éric Hazan.

• 2005

  Publishes Le voile médiatique by Pierre Tevanian and Libération de Sartre à Rothschild by Pierre Rimbert.

• 1999

  Publishes Les prisons de la misère by Loïc Wacquant and Prodiges et vertiges de l'analogie by Jacques Bouveresse.

• 1998

  Publishes Contre-feux by Pierre Bourdieu.

• 1997

  Publishes Les Nouveaux Chiens de garde by Serge Halimi.

• 1996

  Founded by Pierre Bourdieu; publishes Sur la télévision.

Independent, militant, intellectual publisher focusing on critical social and political research.

Product categories. Books · Academic and political essays · Pocket-sized militant collections

1. 1Les Éditions Raisons d'Agirraisonsdagir-editions.org
2. 2Liber-Raisons d'agirfr.wikipedia.org
3. 3Wikidatawikidata.org