Here's some knowledge, gained by experience, of how the Free Market works

at Ebay (from a long post at Human Advancement, all of which is worth reading):

The idea I described there is a form of the old practice of ostracism. Ostracism has gotten a bad rap over the years, partly due to a history of forced participation, but it is the one method of social influence that can be effective even when completely decentralized and absent the use of force. One of the key features is that, when it is voluntary, it is never absolute. The punishment truly fits the crime in that every single person gets a vote, on a continuing basis, and their vote actually counts. If one person decides to give the perptrator a break, his punishment is mitigated to that extent. If the perpetrator is unrepentant, or unwilling to make restitution, he is still free to live his life, just without the benefit of social and economic relations with his fellow man. If he does work to make amends, his punishment is gradually reduced as his efforts soften the hard feelings.