Either a cathedral or bazaar reputation universe with an isomorphic mapping of identity to agent is a scary thought. Some definitions here:
Identity: A unique ID in the namespace of a identity system
Agent: Something, usually a person, that is associated with an identity
Reputation: A rating associated with an identity
If agents are allowed multiple identities on the same reputation system, agent can always deal with a bad reputation by creating a new identity and associated reputation. This is an overall good because although bad agents can erase their bad identities to restart at zero:
1) Those bad agents can only create good reputations the hard way, by being good
2) Requiring good reputations to be only created the hard way rewards being and staying good
3) Agents that end up with bad reputations by no fault of their own (id theft, etc.) can loose those bad reputations by creating new identities
If agents are not allowed the multiple identities on the same system, #3 is lost. Agents will need to leave the reputation system in order to reset their identity. Imagine being an Ebay seller whose account was either hijacked by a bad agent or inadvertently sold bad goods because a bad supplier. The seller would have to re-establish themselves on Amazon, which may reach a smaller market than Ebay did. So the lack of multiple identities starts to hurt agents that aren't necessarily bad.
The worrying part is if identities become linked across systems. This can occur if agents and identities have a 1:1 relationship. For example, an agent just has one SSN. To the credit system, an agent has only a single identity. Now if that agent has a bad reputation on Ebay, that agent cannot start anew on Amazon. The Amazon marketplace buyers can refer to the agent's Ebay reputation.
Today there are many sites that allow agents to have multiple identities. For example, agents currently can have more than one Google account. But there is a trend towards linking agents with a single identity. Facebook ties the agent to the graduating class of their university. Linked-in ties the agent to their resume. How does a agent escape getting a bad reputation associated with their real world credentials such as place of birth, work history, or previous residences? Agents can easily hide the fact that they were seller123 on Ebay when they become seller456 on Amazon, but an agent is going to have a harder time doing so when their identity is tied to their personal history. "No, I'm a different John Smith that was born at 7:45AM in the First Hill Swedish Hospital in Seattle and went to Garfield High and UW and spent 4 years at Trilogy Software in Austin being a code monkey".
Reputation + isomorphic identity will prevent agents from starting again; moving to Alaska will not save you anymore.
http://www.goland.org/reputationsfree/
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This is the moral equivalent of bankruptcy. In many countries going through bankruptcy was a horrific experience that involved prison as well as a total loss of place in society. One of the things that used to make America unique (before we screwed up our bankruptcy code) was that it was relatively easy to go through bankruptcy and emerge more or less whole out the other side. There were fears this would encourage horrible behavior but in practice the system actually worked incredibly well and it encouraged risk taking which gave strength to the American economy. In the world you describe there is no bankruptcy. If you make a mistake, it follows you forever. In such a world nobody takes risks, nobody says anything outrageous, nobody steps out of line and society dies. Let’s hope it doesn’t happen.
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