Today in grim dystopias:

So I don't want to sound judgmental or anything, but holy shit China, I mean, holy shit. Yeah, I'm referring to the People's Republic's new super-dystopian social credit system which it's rolling out over the next couple years.

Hey, China? You guys got that 1984 was a
cautionary tale and not like a 'how-to,' right?

"If you can't trust private business
interests, who can you...sorry,
can't even get through that..."

-business people

What, the what? So it's sort of a people-ranking system by which everyone is assigned a score between 350 and 950-what's that? Why 350 and 950? Because shut up, that's why. It works kind of like a credit rating, and in fact paying your bills on time is a factor. But other things come into play too, like if you've ever been caught smoking in a non-smoking zone or if you play video games too much. It's all part of an algorithm which is beings sourced out to private companies...oh, and did I mention that the algorithm is secret? So I'm sure that won't be riddled with corruption and abuse.

People with high scores can enjoy sweet benefits like not having to pay a deposit on an apartment rental, preferential loans and you can even skip the line at the emergency room. 

Which in a country of 1.5 billion people is
probably a pretty big goddamn deal.

"What? That's ridiculous. What we
do is totally...completely different..."

-Jeff Bezos, while 

laughing nervously

Having a low score on the other hand can get you banned from buying plane and train tickets, your internet connection can be throttled down, and it can even affect the kind of jobs you can get and the kind of schools your kids can go to. Alibaba, one of the companies the government has partnered up with to create the ranking algorithms, is also conveniently an online retailer, so having a shitty score can prevent you from buying things on their website. It'd be like if Amazon.com had access to all of your personal information, could analyze it and then could use it to control your buying habits.

Anyway, like I said before, holy shit China. I mean, could you imagine what it would be like if here in America people were judged based on their credit score? Like if the kind of healthcare and schools you had access to were based on your financial situation?

"Treatable? Technically yes, but with your grandmother's
credit? I'll give you a few minutes to say goodbye."

-Some doctor

(source: subtle commentary)