Abstract

This book examines the centrality of personality in political discourse since the Enlightenment. It considers the theory known as the “politics of authenticity,” its counter-discourses, and the ways in which it has degraded or enriched our collective political life. Using three models of politics to understand our current political predicaments—the politics of authenticity, politics of theatricality, and institutional politics—this volume argues that we need to envision a politics based on the best parts of each model: one that incorporates the ability for the oppressed to speak outside the institutional mechanisms of government. With the continuing erosion of public faith in political institutions, we have instead been left with the most troubling aspects of both authentic and theatrical politics. By exploring recent events and trends in American politics, this book ultimately makes a normative case that we need to balance demands for authenticity in our political actors with the equally necessary political values of deliberative institutions, processes, and decorum.