ABSTRACT
Miller’s translations of Hegel were produced in a complex social space formed by a multiplicity of transformative narratives of personal identity and political commitment. Supplemented with archival evidence, these narratives point towards an intimate and intense relationship between the translator’s life and the translated Hegelian texts. Chapter 1 introduces the case study with reference to the dynamic relationships between strands of personal narrative and political metanarrative, which are pursued later in the book. Miller’s translations are situated as significant cultural events in the field of liberal and neoliberal political theory during the Cold-War period and as performative acts of an age-related, masculinist gender role. Through their peritextual association with philosophers like Findlay, Mure and Knox and the “Cold-War” Hegel revival, the translations were reframed in defensive opposition to (neo)-liberal critics of Hegel, such as Popper and Hayek. The philosophers of the Hegel revival portrayed Hegel as a bastion against aspects of liberalisation, permissiveness and individualism. But the full story emerges as more complex, especially Miller’s contribution to this reactionary discourse. The chapter suggests the possibility of “undoing” some of the strategic, translational moves he made, releasing the potential for contemporary rethinkings of Hegel through Miller.
