[PatrickHenry]

So much for RussP's economically ignorant contention that markets require governments.

A further example -- and perhaps the best -- is the Law Merchant (or or Lex Mercatoria for those who want a touch of class). It was a spontaneous, self-organized, and non-governmental mechanism for the conduct of markets.

[PatrickHenry]

See above.

[Virginia-American]

Law Merchant

Thanks, I'd never heard of that (and I'm in the midst of reading Tuchman's "Distant Mirror")