I think the central missing part of a modern agora (a market not controlled by government) is a reliable system of reputation.

There are proposals for systems of reputation based on ratings, often from arbitrary persons.  But I'm afraid such proposals are open to abuse by ideological enemies. Imagine, for example, some religion does not like something (be it marihuana, tobacco, porn, gays, or other religions). So, the fanatics may give extremal negative ratings to everybody who does not confirm to their religious values.  This is not the information which is interesting for those of different religions.

I see no way out of it, so I think such reputational systems are doomed.

What I would like to propose is a system which allows to establish a reasonable notion reputation also for minorities. So, bad reputation cannot be based on the fact that other people (like religious fanatics) do not like you. It should be based on something different.

The key for a reliable reputational system is the information if you obey contracts.

And the main point is that other parties (like ideological enemies) cannot destroy your reputation without reason. The solution for this is that only an arbiter you have accepted yourself can make the decision to destroy your reputation, and only if you not only violate a contract, but refuse to accept the decision of the arbiter.


For more about this reputational system seehttp://ilja-schmelzer.de/network.