Third-Party Enforcement
When victims can't detect cheating themselves, markets need specialized watchdogs: auditors, inspectors, regulators.
From indictment to organizational death: five months. The punishment was so harsh because the market required extreme deterrence to maintain trust in third-party enforcement.
Some species have specialized cheater detectors. Cleaner fish eat parasites off larger fish (mutualism). But some cleaners bite and eat mucus instead (cheating). Client fish punish cheaters by chasing them away and refusing their services. This third-party enforcement (client punishes cleaner, even though client wasn't the cheater) maintains honesty.
Business Application of Third-Party Enforcement
When victims can't detect cheating themselves, markets need specialized watchdogs: auditors, inspectors, regulators. But this creates a new vulnerability - when the watchdogs themselves cheat, trust in the entire system collapses. Third-party enforcers must face existential punishment (organizational death, not just fines) because their cheating undermines trust across all entities they certify.