The Full Story
The Chinese Social Credit System
This system is a real-world initiative introduced by the Chinese government to monitor and assess the behavior of its citizens based on various factors such as financial responsibility, social behavior, and adherence to government policies. Citizens are assigned a social credit score which impacts their access to privileges such as travel, education, and loans.
Exploitation
Various forms of exploitation are prevalent within the series such as economic, labor, data, social and political exploitation. Economic exploitation and establishing economic inequalities further disadvantage individuals with low credit scores as they have limited access to financial services, employment opportunities, and other resources. Labor exploitation as individuals may be pressured to participate in certain government activities to improve their social credit scores through participating in government-sponsored initiatives and more where individuals are coerced into performing unpaid work to avoid penalties. Data exploitation of individuals' personal information may be collected and sold to their parties without their consent. Also the risk of theft through hacking, etc. Political exploitation is incredibly prominent as well and this allows authorities to target and punish individuals who express opposing opinions and engage in activism deemed unfavorable. This has led to a reduction in the freedom of speech and expression in society.
Marginalization
Exclusion from opportunities, limited mobility among the social classes, and reinforcement of social hierarchies. Exclusion from opportunities as individuals with low social credit scores may face exclusion from various opportunities and privileges such as access to loans, housing education, and employment. This plays a pivotal role as low-income earners may struggle to improve their scores due to systemic barriers and/or limited mobility amongst the social classes.
