Rights and Duties in Asymmetrical Power

Sor Juana lived under asymmetrical power: Church authority, male institutional control, colonial hierarchy. Traditional fairness concepts assume rough equality; her situation demands richer ethical frameworks. When power is asymmetrical, fairness cannot mean equal obligations. The Church had duties to protect intellectual freedom; Sor Juana had rights to pursue knowledge—these are not equivalent claims requiring balance. This concept insists that in systems of domination, the powerful have primary obligations to cease harm and create space, while the marginalized have primary rights to development and voice. Fairness doesn't mean asking the oppressed to be reasonable or moderate their demands; it means asking the powerful to relinquish unjust control. Sor Juana's insistence on her intellectual rights wasn't immoderate—it was the appropriate claim for someone in her position. This framework helps civilizations mature beyond false balance toward genuine justice: acknowledging that fairness requires different things from those with power than from those without.