The Economics of Exclusion and Artificial Scarcity

Sor Juana's lack of formal education was not natural scarcity—books existed, teachers lived in Mexico City—but artificial scarcity created by institutional gatekeeping. She had to pursue knowledge through theft, charm, and obsession because access was deliberately restricted. Libertarian economics questions whether scarcity is natural or manufactured. Patents, credentials, professional licenses, and institutional hierarchies often create artificial barriers that serve incumbents, not consumers. When a society restricts who can practice medicine, teach, or publish, it's not protecting quality—it's protecting monopoly rents and controlling labor supply. Sor Juana's self-education proved that intellectual development doesn't require institutional permission. This concept asks: what knowledge barriers are justified, and which ones are merely extractive? True libertarian justice maximizes actual freedom to acquire property and skills, not artificial credentials that create privilege without merit. It challenges licensing regimes and credentialing monopolies as forms of coercive restriction.