Justice as a Prerequisite, Not an Option

Sor Juana wrote extensively about justice as fundamental to human dignity, not an afterthought or luxury. This reframes ethical consumption: fair wages, safe conditions, and environmental protection aren't optional extras that increase price—they're prerequisites for legitimate commerce. A product cannot be considered affordable if its affordability depends on injustice to workers or ecosystems. Sor Juana would argue that true cost must include human dignity and ecological integrity. This challenges the entire framework of how we calculate value. When corporations market "ethical" product lines at premium prices, they implicitly accept unethical production as normal. This concept rejects that premise entirely: ethical treatment should be baseline, standard, non-negotiable. Moving toward this requires systems change, certainly, but also a shift in consumer consciousness—recognizing that choosing the cheaper product made through exploitation isn't economy, it's complicity with injustice masquerading as practical necessity.