Advance praise: 'In this sensible and carefully-reasoned book, Howard Schweber tackles the central question of liberal political theory: how to justify state action in the face of an abiding and often quite unreasonable pluralism. Schweber's knowledge of contemporary debates is near-encyclopedic, and his dissection of the theoretical underpinnings of all major schools of deliberative democracy is compelling. His alternative of a 'listener-centric' theory of public justification proves a useful corrective to competing theories that end up, on closer examination, being either unduly inclusive or restrictive. In Democracy and Authenticity, Schweber has crafted a challenging new theory of deliberative democracy that political philosophers, constitutional scholars, and defenders of the politics of authenticity will have to take seriously.' Richard Boyd, Associate Professor of Government, Georgetown University.