Determinism and Society

After a few days of discussing the different theories of determinism and free will I began to wonder how the world would be effected if it were possible for determinism to be proven. Although I myself believe in determinism, I am not trying to say that it is possible to prove, I just find it interesting to contemplate the state of society if it were proven. Free will would not be a problem at all because most people enjoy the idea of being able to decide the paths of their own lives. I noticed this just the other day even in a business textbook. The section was talking about business ethics and that when managing an ethical dilemma it is necessary to weigh all the rights of those involved, most importantly the ability for people to decide their own destiny. What if they were unable to decide their destiny? Would there be such things as ethics? I would hope that people would still behave ethically or morally correctly but it would be impossible to control. Any ethical lapse could simply be written off as an unavoidable scientific circumstance and any altruistic acts the same. This is my one soft spot in my defense for determinism. Maybe it is a selfish idea, but I enjoy being applauded for my good actions and I find it helpful, if not necessary, to be berated for my bad actions. So back to my original question, how would society react to this idea that any actions are determined so there is no necessity for moral standards or discipline or awards or, it seems, almost anything at all. Would people find life worthless, or would they be able to put determinism aside and just live their lives regardless of whether it is determined or not?