Sixteen months ago I made public a debt owed to me by my friend Kevin (and his then-wife Lindsay) in the hopes that it’d help me get repaid.
In an exhausitve post I gave an overview of the situation, a timeline of exchanges between me and Kevin, and screenshots of related email correspondence. As I noted at that time:
I’m making this debt public this for two reasons. First, in the hopes that it incentives Kevin to repay what he himself admits that he owes. Second, to lessen the asymmetry of information – so that others who may interact with Kevin on a business level are aware his history (at least with me), so that they can make more-informed decisions.
I had hoped I wouldn’t have to write this post. But, as an advocate of individual freedom and responsibility and someone who believes that each of our reputation’s is the most-important thing we have, I feel it’s the best option I have.
Monthly I updated the status of the debt on via my Facebook profile. Initially comments from others were split – some supported this hoped-for, reputation-focused solution while others were not-so supportive, believing that I should chalk-up the loss of coin to a learning experience.
The latter group didn’t deter me. Why should I walk away from the coin that I had previously earned from my labor, that I later loaned a friend with the promise of repayment? Also, over the 14months since the loan had been made, ample behind-the-scenes steps were attempted to remedy the situation, to no avail. I wasn’t going to use “the state” apparatus to bring-about a conclusion; rather that helping, that would only compound the situation. Going public seemed to offer the best hope.
It worked. Earlier this week Kevin paid-off the remaining balance of the debt. We shook hands, I bought him a beer and now we can both put this behind us.
Thanks Kevin for being a stand-up dude!
Hopefully this situation serves as an example to others on how such situations can be addressed. Not through threats, talking behind someone’s back, or unsupported accusations, but through a calm, objective, and mutually-beneficial approach.
As Debbie H. wrote in her article, Should You Give a Damn About Your Reputation?
. . . individuals would strive always to act properly and with the highest integrity, knowing equally well that any blemish on their reputations would virtually bar them from participating in any future business ventures.
And though Kevin and I didn’t utilize an outside arbitrator (though I did solicit input on my thought to make Kevin’s debt public from my best friend), this quote from Carl Watner’s Stateless, Not Lawless: Voluntaryism & Arbitration puts it succienctly:
The arbitrator’s “only real power is to persuasion” and he relies upon the consent of the parties, which he has obtained before hand, to insure that they will abide by his award. The arbitrator is concerned with the fairness of his judgement, since his own reputation and standing in the community are at stake if either party to the arbitration refuses to honor his decision.
