Quote from: John Humphreys on February 04, 2013, 03:31 pmThe reason I'm interested in SR is that it is an example of people contracting without any formal enforcement mechanism, and so it represents a potentially interesting case study in emergent institutions. Similar studies have been done regarding the informal rules of pirates, and the rules that have existed in various anarchist societies through history.You make us sound so much more interesting than I think most of us really are... ::) To be serious though, I'm not sure exactly what would constitute a "formal enforcement mechanism," if not escrow. The power of Silk Road is absolute, if they say you get no refund or you get no payment, so it shall come to pass. Is it a recognized major government? Obviously not, but in it's own way, it is a formal enforcement mechanism. Just not terribly major or anything anyone would call a government. I suppose you're studying economics though, aren't you -- the question of what constitutes a formal system really isn't part of your field of interest... so never mind I guess.