Matt Knight | The Libertarian Institute

A Brush with the Epistemology of Truth

by Matt Knight | Mar 29, 2018 | Blog

I have no problem with the concept of objective truth. In fact, I strongly believe in it. As I see it, to say, “there’s no such thing as objective truth” is to spiral into philosophical oblivion. Think about it–if the statement “there’s no such thing as objective truth” is objectively true, then the true-ness of that statement falsifies itself and, because of the strong, binary nature of the claim, necessitates that its opposite is true. It bids one recall that old mind-bender that pops up every once in a while on social media, shared by people who feel especially clever for having thought...

On Tariffs and Trade (and Why Trade is Better for America)

by Matt Knight | Mar 5, 2018 | Economics, Featured Articles

I have a huge trade imbalance with Wal-Mart. Huge. I spend hundreds of dollars on groceries and other items every month, but never--not once--has Wal-Mart ever bought something from me. Maybe I should stop shopping at Wal-Mart as a way of sticking it to them. Or not. I actually benefit a great deal from my trade imbalance with Wal-Mart. Generally speaking, my groceries are cheaper than at other stores where I could shop, and the wide selection of home, auto, electronic, and other valuables makes getting what I need easy, even when the contents of my list are diverse. My trade imbalance with...

Reflections on Voting, Incentives, and the State

by Matt Knight | Feb 26, 2018 | Blog

As much as they might want to deny it, I think people recognize--at some level, anyway--that their individual vote has only a fraction of a fraction (of a fraction) of an impact upon the outcome of a given election. Keeping up with current events, economics, and foreign policy exacts a cost on voters that far outweighs their individual impact. Sure, we might like to think that our vote "makes a difference," but the truth is that one-person-one-vote simply doesn't register individual preference very forcefully. The upshot of this cost-benefit mismatch is that voters choose to remain...