Creating economic markets

Throughout history, humans beings have always established social communities first. They develop rules of social exchange, embed their members in complex reciprocal relationship and build up social trust. Only when these relationships are firm can communities enter into commercial trade and set up markets for exchange. That is because markets, by their very nature, deplete trust. The old adage caveat emptor "let the buyer beware" is as true today as it was at the time of the Roman markets more than 2,000 years ago. The point is that markets are secondary rather than primary institutions. They are derivative in nature and exist only as long as there is enough social trust in place to assure the terms of trade.