{"podcast":{"title":"New Books in Critical Theory","slug":"new-books-in-critical-theory-962622","podcast_index_feed_id":962622,"rss_url":"https://feeds.megaphone.fm/LIT8251633117","website_url":"https://newbooksnetwork.com/category/politics-society/critical-theory/","image_url":"https://megaphone.imgix.net/podcasts/2bb9f934-ef86-11e8-8d0f-63a25e571335/image/abfb67777e548da6b9f81c74ecfb67a9.png?ixlib=rails-4.3.1&max-w=3000&max-h=3000&fit=crop&auto=format,compress","author":"New Books Network","episode_count":2340,"summary":"This podcast is a channel on the New Books Network. The New Books Network is an academic audio library dedicated to public education. In each episode you will hear scholars discuss their recently published research with another expert in their field. Discover our 150+ channels and browse our 28,000+ episodes on our website: ⁠newbooksnetwork.com⁠ Subscribe to our free weekly Substack newsletter to get informative, engaging content straight to your inbox: ⁠https://newbooksnetwork.substack.com/⁠ Follow us on Instagram and Bluesky to learn about more our latest interviews: @newbooksnetwork Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/critical-theory","last_synced_at":"2026-09-15T16:20:49.073825+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-critical-theory-962622"},"episode":{"title":"Jonathan Quong, \"Political Philosophy: The Puzzle of Legitimate Injustice\" (Princeton UP, 2026)","slug":"jonathan-quong-political-philosophy-the-puzzle-of-legitimate-injustice-princeton-up-2026","published_at":"2026-09-03T08:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-critical-theory-962622/jonathan-quong-political-philosophy-the-puzzle-of-legitimate-injustice-princeton-up-2026","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-critical-theory-962622","url":"https://pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/NBNK2936785474.mp3","audio_url":"https://pdst.fm/e/traffic.megaphone.fm/NBNK2936785474.mp3","summary":"Can laws be unjust and yet remain, in some sense, morally legitimate? In Political Philosophy: The Puzzle of Legitimate Injustice (Princeton UP, 2026), Jonathan Quong considers central issues in political philosophy through the lens of this single question. He explores and evaluates recent influential work on this topic and then proposes a novel approach of his own. The puzzle at the heart of his account is the phenomenon of legitimate injustice—laws and policies that are substantively unjust yet may be legitimately imposed by government officials. How can such laws be legitimate if, as some have argued, justice is the first virtue of social institutions? Quong analyzes the work of those who deny that injustice committed by states can be legitimate simply by virtue of its democratic or procedural pedigree; the Kantian account of legitimate institutions and justice; instrumental approaches to political legitimacy; and the recent wave of work in democratic theory focused on its egalitarian character. Arguing that these analyses do not offer an adequate solution to the puzzle and that there are compelling reasons to revise or reject them, Quong lays out his view and explains the implications for more general theories of political morality. He argues that we can explain legitimate injustice by appeal to distributive justice. If political disagreement is inevitable, then unjust legislation is largely unavoidable; it constitutes a burden that must be distributed according to just principles. Quong’s novel and illuminating framework offers a unique introduction to crucial questions in political philosophy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Support our show by becoming a premium member! https://newbooksnetwork.supportingcast.fm/critical-t…","meta_description":"Can laws be unjust and yet remain, in some sense, morally legitimate? In Political Philosophy: The Puzzle of Legitimate Injustice (Princeton UP,…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3712,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/new-books-in-critical-theory-962622/episodes/jonathan-quong-political-philosophy-the-puzzle-of-legitimate-injustice-princeton-up-2026/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/new-books-in-critical-theory-962622/jonathan-quong-political-philosophy-the-puzzle-of-legitimate-injustice-princeton-up-2026.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}