The libertarian right to withdraw consent and resist institutional demands on conscience, knowledge, and labor—exemplified by Sor Juana's retreat from public life.
Sor Juana famously renounced her library and intellectual pursuits under pressure from church authorities, a tragic capitulation that reveals the cost of institutional coercion. Libertarian justice demands the explicit right to refuse—to say no to employers, churches, states, and collectives without legal or social punishment. This is not mere passive non-participation but active withdrawal of consent. Property rights mean nothing if institutions can commandeer your time, thought, and creative output through social pressure or economic exclusion. Sor Juana's silencing shows how justice fails when refusal carries devastating consequences. Modern applications include labor contracts, confidentiality agreements, and intellectual conscription. True libertarian freedom protects the right to opt out, even at personal cost.
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