The “social credit” system is mandatory and rewards happy productive citizens but punishes disruptive negative citizens.
A person’s social score can move up and down depending on their behavior. There are people “social agents” that walk around neighborhoods checking social behavior. These social police, neighbors, courts, and vendors decide your status in society.
Things that can bring down your social score:
- Bad driving
- Refused military service
- Smoking in non-smoking zones
- Buying too many video games
- Fake news online
- Walking a dog without a leash
- Loitering
- Wasting money on frivolous purchases
- Certain postings on social media
- Fraud
- Embezzlement
- Don’t stop at crosswalks
Punishments for low social scores include:
- Banning you from flying
- Banning you from the train
- Barred from getting business-class train tickets
- Banning you — or your kids — from the best schools
- Stopping you from getting the best jobs
- Keeping you out of the best hotels
- Have your pet taken away
- Being publicly named as a bad citizen
- Deny new credit cards
Rewards for high social scores include:
- Speed up travel applications
- Book a hotel without having to pay a cash deposit
- More matches on dating websites
- Discounts on energy bills
- Better interest rates at banks
Public announcements are on display warning people not to misbehave or else their behavior will be recorded and reported to the system.
Reality Decoded 
That is frightening.
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Big Brother’s carrot and the stick. Good citizens are the best of those who can measure up to BB’s demands. China’s rulers take their cues from North Korea. Who’s next? Well, it would have been the USA, but the corruption there is so embedded that it wouldn’t work, not without a truly bloody military take over with a few million bodies splattered over city streets, and why waste the money? America is exactly what BB set up for that part of the world: mindless, brain dead consumers (exception noted, if there are still any).
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That covers the U.S. and China. What do you think Russia is up to?
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Russia likes to remain the enigma. Probably taking every advantage of what doesn’t work in the competition, strengthening its military while watching NATO, passing out more vodka and selling its young girls into international prostitution rings…
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Bread and circuses
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I don’t understand the reference
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A reward and punishment system that breeds a dependency on the government.
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Pavlov’s Dog kinda thing.
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Ahh got it
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Scary thought.
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Great (not). Isn’t there a Democrat presidential candidate who wants to copy China’s social credit system?
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I haven’t seen one yet.
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I certainly hope I’m misremembering – and that if I’m not, he’s unsuccessful.
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If a person pays their bills, earns their money, and obeys the laws, no problem. It seems China has been a hell hole and the present leader is making changes. It is social engineering on a very large scale. It may well end Christianity and Islam in China. This may take a while, but it’s possible. GROG
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Interesting way of looking at it
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Great post. I’ve read about this and it sends shivers up my spine.
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What’s even worse is that our system in the US is achieving the same goal slowly but without any visibility.
Think about it… “Credit Score”, “Social Presence” Oo
Just a thought
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Precisely, couldn’t agree more! Everything from job applications to renting a home demand permission to access our digital footprint.
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Hmmm….. carrot and stick ….. there’s a familiar ring to this.
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