This book is a sociological analysis of the different stakes on which the social politics of the aged have occurred in France during the period 1945–1985. In order to understand the social genesis of the politics of age, GuiUemard takes into account the dynamics of different social actors and, on the other hand, the autonomy of the state with respect to them. Analyzing these actors in relation to the autonomy of the state allows a comprehension of the different modalities of interventions in the field of aging. In so doing, the author shows that the same modes of intervention reflect, in the field of social relations, new forms of intergenerational relations.