Rights as Intellectual Property Claims

Sor Juana's writings were claimed by institutions, her intellectual work controlled and directed by ecclesiastical authorities—a form of corruption that steals credit, agency, and benefit from thinkers and creators. She asserted her right to her own mind and work, resisting appropriation. In modern corruption contexts, this principle applies to stolen research, plagiarized policy ideas, intellectual property violations, and the systematic devaluation of women's and marginalized peoples' knowledge. Corruption often masks itself as legitimate when powerful institutions appropriate and profit from others' intellectual labor without attribution or compensation. This Sophos tradition demands recognizing knowledge-workers' rights, protecting attribution, ensuring fair benefit-sharing, and resisting intellectual exploitation. Fighting corruption requires defending not just money and resources but ideas, creativity, and the dignity of intellectual contribution.