American politics seems like a war between irreconcilable forces and so we may suspect that political life as such is war. This book confronts these suspicions by arguing that liberal political institutions have the unique capacity to sustain social trust in diverse, open societies, undermining aggressive political partisanship.

Introduction Chapter 1: Moral Peace and Social Trust Chapter 2: Trust and the Foundations of Public Justification Chapter 3: Public Justification Chapter 4: Legal Systems Chapter 5: Primary Rights Chapter 6: Constitutional Choice Chapter 7: Liberalism Justified Epilogue Acknowledgements Bibliography

"The argument is complex and multi-faceted but presented in a clear and approachable style." -- Alan Hamlin , University of Manchester "I have tremendous sympathy with Vallier's project, and I agree with his conclusion that liberal social democracy is the only form of government that can be openly and publicly justified to a large, diverse population. Vallier's argument to this effect is beautifully constructed and penetratingly clear. His decision to ground an account of public reason in the sociologically plausible experience of trust is especially innovative and welcome. This is an exemplary book within its genre." -- Douglas I. Thompson, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews "Must Politics be War? presents a new vision of how basic forms of social trust can sustain the individual rights that allow people with diverse moral and political views to flourish together in civil peace. Kevin Vallier has written a book that is as philosophically original as it is politically timely." -- Charles Larmore, W. Duncan MacMillan Family Professor of Philosophy, Brown Universtiy "Kevin Vallier has tackled the key problem for political theory in our current situation--that of the erosion of social trust in a diverse community. He has addressed this problem in the most appropriate way--in terms of the institutional framework that might sustain social trust within such a community. He has argued effectively for the conclusion that key liberal-democratic institutions--freedom of association, the market, the welfare state, and democratic political arrangements--meet the demand that they be reasonable from diverse points of view and hence generally acceptable as providing the appropriate framework for the sustenance of social trust. This is an important book on a topic a high contemporary significance." -- Fred D'Agostino, Professor of Humanities, The Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities, The University of Queensland "In this wide-ranging, deeply informed, and highly ambitious volume, Kevin Vallier returns to the convergence view of public reason and explores its potential for building moral and legal trust in liberal societies which are deeply divided about the good and the right. Vallier's book lies at the cutting edge of public reason liberalism. It is must-read for philosophers and political theorists interested in the possibilities that view holds out." -- Paul Weithman, Glynn Family Honors Professor of Philosophy, University of Notre Dame "offers a thoughtful and sophisticated elaboration of the public reason approach and carefully answers possible objections from those already familiar with it ... Recommended." -- M. Blitz, CHOICE

Selling point: Advances the controversial thesis that political life is not invariably a struggle for domination, and that, despite deeply diverse viewpoints, social trust between us is possible Selling point: Unique in addressing contemporary political polarization as a philosophical problem, and not just a practical one Selling point: Develops a liberal political theory by appealing to the extensive empirical literature on social and political trust Selling point: Expands and extends the case for public reason liberalism, or political liberalism Selling point: Brings together insights from the fields of philosophy, politics, and economics, placing it in the new PPE paradigm of normative theorizing

Kevin Vallier is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Bowling Green State University and Director of BGSU's Program in Philosophy, Politics, Economics, and Law. He is the author of Liberal Politics and Public Faith: Beyond Separation (Routledge, 2014) and over thirty peer-reviewed articles and book chapters. He is the co-editor of Political Utopias: Contemporary Debates (OUP, 2017) and Religious Exemptions (OUP, 2018).

Selling point: Advances the controversial thesis that political life is not invariably a struggle for domination, and that, despite deeply diverse viewpoints, social trust between us is possible Selling point: Unique in addressing contemporary political polarization as a philosophical problem, and not just a practical one Selling point: Develops a liberal political theory by appealing to the extensive empirical literature on social and political trust Selling point: Expands and extends the case for public reason liberalism, or political liberalism Selling point: Brings together insights from the fields of philosophy, politics, and economics, placing it in the new PPE paradigm of normative theorizing