Privacy and the Sovereignty of Inner Life

Sor Juana faced constant scrutiny from Church authorities investigating her beliefs, her influences, her private thoughts. She asserted boundaries: certain aspects of her intellectual and spiritual life were hers alone, not subject to inspection or judgment by institutions. She modeled the right to an interior life free from surveillance. In Libertarian justice, privacy is not merely practical but foundational to freedom and property. Your mind, your conscience, your intimate thoughts are your property—the most intimate property you possess. When institutions or others invade this space through surveillance, interrogation, or forced disclosure, they violate your sovereignty. Without privacy, you cannot think freely; the possibility of being watched and judged chills thought itself. Sor Juana's assertion of an inviolable inner life recognizes that true freedom requires zones of genuine privacy where you are answerable to no one. Libertarian systems must protect this: the right to think, believe, and feel without exposure or punishment, except where your actions harm others.