One's sincere beliefs, convictions, and moral commitments constitute a form of property that cannot be rightfully seized or compelled by external force.
Sor Juana lived under the Spanish Inquisition and strict Catholic orthodoxy, yet she maintained her own theological inquiries, questioned authority, and held convictions that sometimes diverged from institutional doctrine. She could not be forced to genuinely believe what the Church commanded; conscience remained hers alone. In libertarian terms, belief is property: your convictions belong to you. No external power can legitimately claim ownership of your inner life, your doubts, your questions, or your faith. Forced confession, thought-reform, or intellectual submission violate this property right. Sor Juana's quiet resistance—continuing to think and write despite pressure—asserts that the mind cannot be owned by institutions. This concept protects minority beliefs, heretical thought, and unpopular conscience against majoritarian or authoritarian suppression. Libertarian justice recognizes that freedom of conscience is foundational: you own your beliefs before you own anything else, and that ownership is inalienable.
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