Is there a difference?

[DetlefK]

By 2021, China wants to cover all citizens in a "social credit" system.

What is a social credit? It measures whether you are a good, morally and ethically correct citizen.

How do they measure it? The corporation Alibaba is already doing it by connecting their app for paying cashless to everything. Their app connects to basically every service you could possibly need and paying cash gets rarer and rarer because it's much more comfy to pay by smartphone, to schedule appointments by smartphone, to make reservations by Smartphone, to track your bills and insurances by Smartphone.
And Alibaba is cross-connecting all this info to first invade the privacy of their customers and then to punish them if they behave in a way the company doesn't like.
The chinese government is setting up a similar system, already punishing dissenters and troublemakers, and wants to track the social behaviour of every single citizen.



Imagine the moral and ethical implications.

Imagine growing up in a system where from childhood on some distant ruler judges every single thing you do and the consequences are swift.
Imagine growing up in a system where asking the wrong question, drawing the ire of the wrong official, buying too much or not enough of a certain product, being friends with certain people, voicing a certain opinion, not voicing a certain opinion, have actual real-life consequences that can ruin your livelihood, your relationship, your career and maybe even the career of your friends and children.

If you grow up under constant surveillance, what guidelines do you use for moral decisions? Will you use the guidelines of the authority that rules you?

What happens when you actually have to make a moral decision? Will you make that decision? Or will you first check up with the authority out of fear to be punished for making a wrong decision?






My question: Is it just me, or does that remind you of religion?
* We have a distant, all-powerful authority.
* Your life is being regulated by the authority.
* There are dire consequences if you should dare to go against the will of the authority. -> Hell
* The authority is the final arbiter on morality.
* It's so easy and tempting to just copy the authority's morals for making decisions.

It sounds to me as if China is using methods structurally similar to religion to control its people.
If you want to control people, make them outsource their decision-making to you.

[HopeAgain]

1. Doesn't sound like religion at all to me

Sounds like political authoritarianism in the extreme. If you want to delude yourself and somehow tie religion into this, that's your prerogative.

[DetlefK]

2. What moral standards do you use for decison-making?

What is your religion's opinion on using other moral standards than those of your religion?
If there is a moral quandary, who is the final authority to be consulted?



Do you use moral standards set by your religion? Because doing otherwise will land you in hell? And God anyways has the final say on morals?

[HopeAgain]

3. I'm not religious

I just thought your comparison is ridiculous.

[Major Nikon]

4. For most monotheistic religions, god is the final arbiter

There is no appeal and standards never change. For instance, with Christianity if you own slaves and rape children there's no atonement necessary.

[Lordquinton]

5. There is a difference

This authority actually exists and the punishment is real. While guilt is a great way to control people, it's just self policing, and can be grown out of.

[guillaumeb]

6. China was established as an atheist state.

Funny how power can cause people to do things.