Systemic Oppression as Corruption's Soil

Sor Juana lived under systems that excluded women from education, power, and public voice. She recognized that injustice is often systemic, embedded in structures rather than merely individual. This insight illuminates why corruption persists: unjust systems create incentives and opportunities for corrupt behavior. When some people are excluded from power and resources by design, those excluded have motivation to corrupt or circumvent systems; when power is hoarded by an elite, that concentrated power attracts corruption. Systemic corruption—where wrongdoing is normalized, institutionalized, and defended by structure—is harder to fight than individual malfeasance. Sor Juana's work suggests that genuine anticorruption requires addressing underlying injustice: broadening access to power, making systems more inclusive, distributing resources more fairly, and checking concentrated authority. This does not mean corruption disappears in just societies, but unjust systems actively breed it. Effective anticorruption strategies address both individual wrongdoing and the structural conditions that encourage it. Expanding who has voice, access, and stake in institutions reduces both the motivation and the opportunity for corruption.