How Does China’s Social Credit System Work?

Big brother is coming for America next

China has one of the lowest freedom indexes in the entire world. It’s almost at the North Korea level it’s so bad.

The Chinese Communist Party even banned Winnie the Pooh because their president was being compared to him too much. I know. A bitch move.

Now things are getting worse.

Many parts of China are being subjected to a social credit system that ranks them by good or bad behavior, with performance-related rewards and punishment.

It’s one-part Black Mirror and two parts Orwell, with a dash of Huxley for good measure. Meanwhile, the Chinese government is defending the system saying it's an efficient way to discourage undesirable behavior.

“The creditworthy will be granted conveniences in education, employment and opening start-ups, while severe wrongdoing will be made public,” the CCP made in a public address.

So is China’s social credit system as bad as critics say — and is America next?

How the Social Credit System Works

Just like a FICO credit score, everyone has a starting baseline score with China’s system being 1000 points. Based on your individual performance you are broken into different tiers.

Here’s what that looks like —

AAA/ AA (1050 points): You are an exemplary citizen. A good boy. You enjoy a 3% point benefit on current loan rates and free health checks if you’re under the age of 64. Keep up the good work!

A+/ A/ A- (960–1029 points): You receive priority in school enrollment and other social assistance, in addition to preferential care in employment. Additionally, you enjoy the privilege to be used as a model in campaigns done by the government.

B (850–959): As an immediate penalty, you’re locked into B for two years and will receive periodic government visits for ‘re-education’. You can still enjoy A- benefits, but deep down you know you can do better.

C (600–849): You’re locked into C for three years before ever becoming a B. You’re also on a government list. You cannot receive welfare, cannot win awards or honors, and cannot run for political office. Also, expect many more government visits.

D (0–599): You’re a very bad boy. You are now on a public blacklist. You must revoke honorific titles such as your doctorate or master’s degree. No government funding can ever be provided to you. By the way, you might lose your job and officials are going to visit you all the time now.

Everything That Affects Your Social Credit Score

Nearly everything you do in a day can impact your social credit score. This includes social media activities, interacting with the right or wrong people, online purchases, your finances, your achievements at work or school, and a few other esoteric activities.

Here’s some of the most peculiar —

- 50 for negative information on social media such as posts or messages that criticize the Chinese Communist Party.
+10 for ratting out cult organizations, environmental pollutionists and any feudal superstition (i.e. Muslim Uyghurs)
Traffic fines -10. Two parking tickets -10
Illegally holding classes — where you may or may not be educating people about how evil the CCP is — is -50
Rat out criminals +20
More than two children or refusal of sterilization -40
A tombstone that’s too big -100
Donate organs +100
+5 for kid joining the Army
Petitioning a legitimate problem like unsanitary water. The problem might be fixed, but addressing it will lose you points. -50

How is all of this monitored? Through the 200,000,000 surveillance cameras and facial recognition software located throughout the country. China’s population is over 1.4 billion people (nearly 20% of the world). If we do some simple math we’ll find that’s one camera for every seven citizens.

Is This Worth it?

The Ancient Greeks created Democracy, but even Plato said that Democracy was the worst form of government, only beat out by tyranny.

The fact of the matter is that a social credit system greatly benefits the Chinese Communist Party. President Xi Jinping and his cronies can easily target problematic citizens just like the Thought Police from “1984.”

Does this system limit its citizen’s personal freedoms? Yes. Are Chinese civilians more likely to rat on their neighbors for crimes they did not commit? Most likely.

‘To date, 27,000,000 airplane tickets and 6,000,000 railway tickets have been denied to Chinese citizens based on their social credit score.’ — Matthew Tye, Independent Journalist

Advocates of this social credit system say it's used to measure trustworthiness and disincentivize wrongdoing. Critics on the other hand argue it uses gamification to seem harmless but will eventually become an exile system.

Is This Coming to America?

Most likely.

2020 presidential candidate Andrew Yang wants to create a government-run mobile app system that rewards Americans with “digital social credits” for good behavior.

In Mr. Yang’s system, Americans would be able to cash in their points at participating stores, qualify for various perks like throwing a pitch at a local ballgame, or win a chance to meet a celebrity or local Congressperson. Oh joy!

Besides — we already have a pseudo-government-sponsored social credit system in New York City and California.

In California, all private employees are required to be vaccinated, and, additionally, adolescent students cannot go to school without a COVID vaccine despite children in America resulting in 0.25% of all COVID-19 deaths (800,000 in total). Fewer than 700 kids have died in the US; so, with there being 330 million people living in America you can do the math and see how minuscule a percentage of fatalities kids represent.

Meanwhile, in New York City you cannot go to a restaurant, sports game, bar, comedy show or almost any other public event without a vaccine card.

I’m fully vaccinated, but watching New Yorkers and Californians be exiled for a decision they made in their personal lives is almost as Orwellian as what we see in China. Moreover, you can still get COVID after being vaccinated! So what are we doing here? An Israeli study even shows that natural immunity delivers 13 times more protection than COVID vaccines.

We’re sacrificing personal freedom for draconian laws and “safety” — which, by the way, isn’t as safe as you’re led to believe.

“Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety.” — Benjamin Franklin

It’s easy to criticize China for its dogmatic, authoritarian social credit system but it doesn’t seem like America is too far behind.