Institutional Resistance to Dissent: Power's Property Claims

The Catholic Church hierarchy attempted to claim ownership not only of Sor Juana's labor but of her mind, her interpretations, her very thoughts. In libertarian justice, we must recognize how institutions weaponize property concepts to expand their power. When the Church declared certain ideas forbidden, they were claiming ownership of thought itself. This concept exposes how power operates: by extending property claims beyond reasonable bounds—claiming ownership of what cannot be owned (conscience, interpretation, intellectual exploration). Libertarian justice must include institutional skepticism, questioning when authorities claim expansive property rights that would restrict freedom. Sor Juana's persecution shows that institutions will always demand more than they deserve. True libertarian justice requires constant vigilance: protecting legitimate property rights while refusing institutions' implicit claims to own citizens' minds, allegiances, and interpretive freedom. Freedom survives when we question institutional property claims and defend individual cognitive liberty.