Wendy Salkin, "Speaking for Others: The Ethics of Informal Political Representation" (Harvard UP, 2024)
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What is informal political representation and why does it matter?
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Hello and thank you for joining us for this episode of New Books in Philosophy. It's part of the New Books Network. I'm Robert Talise. I am professor of philosophy at Vanderbilt University. I co-host the program with Carrie Figder, Malcolm Keating, and Sarah Tyson. My guest today is Wendy Salkin. Wendy is assistant professor of philosophy and by courtesy of law at Stanford University. She specializes in political philosophy, philosophy of race, and philosophy of law. And much of her work resides at the intersections between these areas and questions in ethics and feminist philosophy. Her new book has just been published with Harvard University Press. It's titled Speaking for Others, The Ethics of Informal Political Representation.
Now I take it that we're all familiar with the idea of a formal representative. And perhaps that also means we're familiar with the idea of a formal political representative. Roughly we're talking about someone who's been selected by some official process to hold an office where he or she is tasked with promoting, advocating, or speaking for a constituency. But I take it we're also familiar with the idea of an informal representative. This is someone who speaks for a constituency. But isn't exactly appointed by a formal process. Once again, the idea of an informal political representative might be familiar as well. We're familiar with rock stars and celebrities, commonly claiming to speak for others.
To represent their interests and their priorities or their values. And often such people are understood by large numbers of people. To informally represent The constituency for whom they claim to speak. Now, it's obvious that there are lots of ways in which informal political representation can go badly. But surprisingly, the topic hasn't really been theorized, or at least not thoroughly theorized. Until now. In her book Speaking for Others, Wendy develops an intricate framework. And also proposes some interesting philosophical normative conclusions. about how we might think about informal political representation. Now, as usual, there's a lot to talk about. But we will begin as we normally do with our guest.
Hi Wendy.
Hi Bob.
How are you today?
Oh, I'm doing well. How are you?
I'm hanging in. It's dreadfully hot in Nashville, but um You know, I'll I'll deal with it. Um So we uh we we normally start um with uh the author and I ask the author to say something about herself. Um you know, why don't you tell us a little bit about yourself?
Sure. Well, so I was born in Hackensack, New Jersey. And um Hey! Um Hackensack, I was born at Hackensack University Medical Center. Also also true of you.
Well, at the time it was just Hack and Sack Hospital.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is informal political representation and why does it matter?
0:00–5:29
2
How does Wendy Salkin define the emergence of an informal political representative?
5:29–12:54
3
What is the audience‑conferral model and what actions constitute it?
12:54–21:22
4
How do the duties of informal representatives differ from those of formal politicians?
21:22–31:01
5
What ethical challenges arise from the power and accountability of informal representatives?
31:01–39:27
6
How does the Booker T. Washington case illustrate audience conferral and its limits?
39:27–47:22
7
What is the descriptive‑preference principle and what hidden commitments does it carry?
47:22–55:10
8
How can non‑descriptive informal representatives serve groups that are invisible or oppressed?
55:10–1:02:04
Speakers
2 identifiedMore from New Books in Philosophy
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Daniel Cohnitz and Jussi Haukioja, "Foundations for Metasemantics" (Oxford UP, 2025)
Philippe Huneman, "When Metaphysics Meets Biology: Kantian Approaches to the Concept of An Organism" (Routledge, 2026)
Rivka Weinberg, "The Meaning of It All: Ultimate Meaning, Everyday Meaning, Cosmic Meaning, Death, and Time" (Oxford UP, 2026)
PJ DiPietro, "Sideways Selves Travesti and Jotería, "Struggles Across the Américas" (U Texas Press, 2025)