In these circunistances the cheated merchant might be able to get a judgment against his supplier, but what good would it do if the supplier never returned to the Fairs? Perhaps ostracism by the other merchants might be an effective way to enforce the payment of judgments. However, if that is so, why was a legal system needed at all?

QUESTION: This raises a genuine puzzle about why formal legal systems evolved if informal mechanisms like ostracism could work. Worth chasing the historical answer. Builds on: "Merchant law thrived on ostracism before strong nation-states emerged"

PAUL R. MILGRO, PAUL R. MILGRO - THE ROLE O…, loc. 37