LAUSR

How may a reasonably just regime defend itself from its enemies without collapsing into tyranny? This question marks a recurring concern in political theory at least since Machiavelli. The concern is even more acute for liberal political theory. As a general matter, liberalism grants individuals freedom to form their own comprehensive moral views and associate with others who share them. But citizens of a liberal regime will not always be attracted to moral views that chime with the liberal ethos of mutual toleration and respect. They will sometimes embrace viewpoints championing hate. However, history teaches us that, if such viewpoints gain broad following and permeate social life, their adherents are likely to turn against the political institutions that allowed them to flourish in the first place. Is liberalism paradoxical then? In his bookWhen the State Speaks, What Should it Say Corey Brettschneider aims to solve this apparent paradox. He defends a variant of liberal democracy which he calls value democracy. A political society committed to value democracy affords citizens robust rights to freedom of expression and association but at the same time uses its own persuasive power and its subsidy policy to champion and promote the ideal of free and equal citizenship that is the basis of a liberal regime. Brettschneider calls this aspect of government action democratic persuasion. When it