Are you patriotic enough? I often wonder that myself… oh, I don’t mean I wonder about myself. I’m 100% patriotic. I mean, I wonder about you. What are you really thinking? What have you been posting on your social media? And how’s your credit?
Unfortunately, in most parts of the world, we have the silly notion that this is somehow private information. But how can the government make an accurate judgment of you and properly place you in society if they don’t know every single detail about you, down to the thoughts in your head.
Fortunately the Communist Party of China has taken yet another giant step forward toward making George Orwell’s 1984 a reality.
Now, according to the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the average Chinese citizen lacks even the most basic moral compass. They simply can’t distinguish between right and wrong! According to the CASS, “When people’s behavior isn’t bound by their morality, a system must be used to restrict their actions.”
So what system can the Communist Party come up with to better restrict the Chinese people? Even tanks have proven ineffective.
Fortunately, repression is being taken into the digital age, thanks to the implementation of what’s being called, the Social Credit System. It’s kind of like Yelp, only, instead of customers going to a restaurant and giving it a score, it’s the Communist Party, giving a score, to every one of the 1.3 billion people living in China.
Everyone gets a rating! The Social Credit System includes not just financial credit, but also takes into consideration your criminal record and social media behavior. How will the Chinese government get all this information? Unlike the US, where companies like Google are always fighting against the government by trying to protect the privacy of users, in China, companies work for the government. Take e-commerce giant Alibaba. Their version of Paypal, Alipay, already gives users a credit rating, partially based on things like—do you buy diapers? Good! You must be a responsible contributing member of society! You get a higher score! Do you play video games? How can we trust someone who purposefully disconnects from reality? That’s points off for you. And what books are you reading? Now the government will know! And the best part is, your own ranking is affected by the ranking of your friends and family. So whenever you do anything, you get to have the added pressure of wondering how your actions will potentially destroy your friends and family, just like during the Cultural Revolution.
So what happens if your credit is bad? Well, people are going to see that when you apply for a job, or housing, or a loan. You don’t want to have a questionable person working for you, do you? One who might bring down your own credit rating!
So if you want to ensure your social credit rating, it’s best to live by the “core socialist values,” Chinese leader Xi Jinping is always talking about. Values like, “ democracy, harmony, freedom, equality, justice.” Oh, and “friendship.” Don’t forget about friendship.
So what do you think of the Social Credit Ranking? Is it doubleplus good? Leave your comments below. And by that I mean leave a trail on social media so any government agencies looking will know where you’ve been.
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