Resumen: 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. Idioma: Inglés DOI: 10.1177/13684310241270435 Año: 2024 Publicado en: EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL THEORY (2024), 1-22 ISSN: 1368-4310 Factor impacto JCR: 1.4 (2024) Categ. JCR: SOCIOLOGY rank: 108 / 219 = 0.493 (2024) - Q2 - T2 Factor impacto SCIMAGO: 1.132 - Sociology and Political Science (Q1)