China’s Social Credit System: For the Greater Good?

In 2014, China unveiled its plan to implement a social credit system that would create a better China by rewarding good behavior and punishing the opposite. This concept has been hit with a lot of criticism from the west, but China is not the west. Which why I pose the question, “Will this work for the greater good in China?”

The point of laws in a nation is to determine right from wrong, which then, hopefully, keeps a society acting in a way that the government deems acceptable. China’s social credit system takes this a step further, as now nearly every action you take can impact your score. For example, buying too many video games will decrease your score and donating to charity will increase it. In doing so, China seeks to make the perfect nation by forcing its citizens to act appropriately or face the consequences.

It is the repercussions of your social credit score that are what truly impact the greater good. This past March, 23,000,000 people were blocked from buying plane or train tickets. Other repercussions include limiting your internet speeds, stopping your children from being enrolled in better schools, and naming you to a black list of bad citizens.

I struggle to see how it benefits the greater good by forcing “bad” citizens to remain in your country by blocking them from travel. How is it beneficial to hold citizens hostage because their social credit scores are low?

In addition, I firmly disagree with punishing a child’s education for their parent’s decisions. Enrollment should be based on intelligence and merit, not a parent’s score. Why limit a child with potential because of their parents? If this were truly for the greater good, children should not be the victims.

The pros of the social credit system is it truly rewards good behavior. If you naturally follow what the social credit system deems appropriate, then your life will prosper from this. The system also encourages citizens to act a certain way, which, in theory, will increase the prosperity of the nation as citizens will choose to act good out of fear of what will happen should they not.

This fear is why I do not think that this system is for the greater good. Rather, it is a system that forces its citizens to act good. I think a system that rewards good behavior would benefit the greater good, but it is the repercussions of this system that tips the scale negatively.

What are your thought on China’s social credit system? Do you think it (or a similar system) would work in your home country?