Refusal as a Property Right

Sor Juana's ultimate withdrawal from public intellectual life—her refusal to continue publishing under pressure—exemplifies the power of non-compliance. When ecclesiastical authorities intensified demands that she abandon her intellectual pursuits, she refused their frame entirely. This act of refusal is a property right: the ability to withhold one's labor, output, and energy from systems that demand compliance. Libertarian theory emphasizes that freedom means the right to say 'no' to unwanted transactions or obligations. Sor Juana's refusal wasn't passive—it was an active assertion of ownership. She refused to allow her intellectual work to be instrumentalized, even when doing so cost her public voice. This principle applies broadly: individuals own their capacity to refuse, to withdraw consent, and to stop participating in systems of control. Her example suggests that sometimes libertarian justice requires not claiming space within oppressive institutions, but withdrawing from them entirely and asserting sovereignty through non-participation.