Society, and even biology, has invented all sorts of mechanism to reward/punish you for actions. The emotion of shame, for example, is a strong incentive to behave as expected, even among strangers. Shame (and pride) are probably evolutionary adaptions to make the connection between an action and the resulting change in your reputation more immediate.
On the other end of the scale, criminal law punishes you for large transgressions, and sometimes prizes reward you for good deeds (although the latter is mostly achieved via market mechanisms).
Both criminal law and awards also work via reputation, by publicising your actions to a wide audience.
It's also interesting to contrast the discussion in this threat to any number of HN threats on freedom of speech in the last weeks. There, the idea that someone's reputation could be tarnished by their participation in a neo-nazi torch parade was generally considered to be the end of freedom.
On the other end of the scale, criminal law punishes you for large transgressions, and sometimes prizes reward you for good deeds (although the latter is mostly achieved via market mechanisms).
Both criminal law and awards also work via reputation, by publicising your actions to a wide audience.
It's also interesting to contrast the discussion in this threat to any number of HN threats on freedom of speech in the last weeks. There, the idea that someone's reputation could be tarnished by their participation in a neo-nazi torch parade was generally considered to be the end of freedom.