I’ve never understood why it matters if the “losing” side in a contested election “concedes.” Why does the candidate have this power? I mean what if you get 51% and it’s contested, and you “concede”–why do you have the power to put the 49% loser into office? Or if it’s uncertain, why does either candidate have the authority to decide this?
And what exactly is a concession–? Does it have to be in writing? Filed somewhere? How does the candidate make it “official”? What if he changes his mind?
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Stephan Kinsella is a libertarian writer and retired patent attorney in Houston, Texas. He has published widely on various areas of libertarian legal theory and on legal topics such as intellectual property law and international law. His publications include Legal Foundations of a Free Society (Papinian Press, 2023), Against Intellectual Property (Mises Institute, 2008), International Investment, Political Risk, and Dispute Resolution: A Practitioner’s Guide (Oxford, 2020), and The Universal Principles of Liberty (2025).
My Failed Libertarian Speaking Hiatus; Memories of Mises Institute and Other Events, 1988–20192025
