The Economics of Unpaid Intellectual Labor

Much of Sor Juana's work—teaching, manuscript production, theological correspondence—was performed with little institutional credit or compensation, typical of women's intellectual labor in her era. This concept examines how property systems become unjust when they fail to recognize and fairly compensate all creators. Libertarian justice requires honest accounting of who produces value and who captures it. When systems systematically undervalue certain workers' contributions—whether through exclusion, unpaid expectations, or obscurity—they violate property rights and perpetuate coercive redistribution. Sor Juana's legacy raises questions about credit, attribution, and fair exchange in knowledge work. Applied today, this framework exposes how unpaid domestic and emotional labor, women's academic contributions, and marginalized voices' intellectual property are systematically undervalued. True libertarian justice demands transparent valuation of all productive work and fair compensation regardless of the producer's social position.