The Penalty of Silence as Property Confiscation

At the end of her life, under pressure from ecclesiastical authorities, Sor Juana was largely silenced. She ceased publishing, her writings were restricted, and her voice was muted. This silencing was not merely oppression; it was property theft. The words, ideas, and works she might have created and shared were confiscated. In libertarian justice, silence imposed by force is a taking: it deprives the individual of the right to express their property (their thoughts, words, creativity) and deprives others of the benefits of that expression. Censorship, forced confidentiality, and enforced silence are forms of property violation. They confiscate not just tangible goods but the intangible property of voice, visibility, and impact. Sor Juana's silencing shows the cost: literature unwritten, ideas unexpressed, truths untold. A libertarian framework must protect not just the negative freedom from censorship but the positive property right to speak, publish, and share one's intellectual work. The penalty of silence is a confiscation that extends across generations, stealing from posterity as well as the present.