scholarly journals “Social Credit System”: historical prerequisites and doctrinal grounds of the phenomenon

2020 ◽  
pp. 72-88
Author(s):  
Roman Z. Rouvinsky ◽  
Alexey A. Tarasov
Keyword(s):  
Social Control ◽  
Credit Scoring ◽  
Social Institutions ◽  
Scoring Systems ◽  
Credit System ◽  
Russian Science ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Social Credit ◽  
History Of ◽  
New Perspective

This article is dedicated to identification and examination of doctrinal grounds and historical prerequisites of the" Social Credit System (trustworthiness)” – a project introduced in the People’s Republic of China in the early 2000s, and currently being “exported” from People’s Republic of China to other countries. In the course of this research, the author analyzed the specific Chinese sources and prerequisites for the creation of modern social rating and control system, as well as non-national sources mostly attributed to the history of Western European political legal thought and Western social institutions. Viewing "Social Credit System" as a technique for exercising social control and oversight, the authors discover its origins in J. Bentham’s project" Panopticon ", Taylor’s philosophy of management, Confucian and legalistic traditions of Imperial China, ideas and institutions of the era of Chinese cultural revolution, as well as U.S. credit scoring systems. This article is the first within Russian science to study the historical and doctrinal prerequisites of China’s "Social Credit System”, taking into account the works of foreign scholars dedicated to the history of its establishment.  A new perspective is given on the Confucian ideas the ideas of Fajia (Legalism) School, which are interpreted as complementary sources of the modern system of social control developed in PRC. The authors believe that China’s “Social Credit System” and the related techniques of control represent a so-called “bridge” that connects “Western” history of the development of social institutions with typically “Eastern” political and sociocultural tradition. In conclusion, attention is turned to the positive aspects, as well as “shadow” side of implementation of the mechanism of “Social Credit System”, “reverse” of this process and all accompanying problems thereof.

scholarly journals Multiple Social Credit Systems in China

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chuncheng Liu
Keyword(s):  
National Development ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
Credit System ◽  
Symbolic System ◽  
Bank Of China ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Design And Implementation ◽  
Social Credit ◽  
History Of ◽  
Macroeconomic Management

Published on Economic Sociology: The European Electronic Newsletter, 2019, 21 (1): 22–32. In 2014, the Chinese government proposed to build a social credit system (SCS) to better collect and evaluate citizens’ creditworthiness and grant rewards and punishments based on one’s social credit. Since then, various SCS pilots have been enacted. While current media and scholars often perceive SCS as a single and unified system, this paper argues that there are in fact multiple SCSs in China. I identify four main types of SCS and articulate the relationships among them. Each SCS has different assumptions, operationalizations, and implementations. China’s central bank, the People’s Bank of China, and the macroeconomic management agency, the National Development and Reform Commission, are the two most important actors in the design and implementation of the multiple SCSs. Yet their distinctive views about what “credit” is and what an SCS should be produced great tensions on the SCS landscape. I also historicize current SCSs and show that many elements and assumptions of SCSs can be traced back to a broader political history of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Finally, I propose an alternative theoretical framework to understand Chinese SCSs as a symbolic system with performative power that is more than a simple repressive and direct political project.

scholarly journals Social Credit System in the People's Republic of China: normative legal framework and principles of functionality

2020 ◽  
pp. 18-53
Author(s):  
Roman Z. Rouvinsky ◽  
Tatiana Komarova
Keyword(s):  
Legal Framework ◽  
Legal Regulation ◽  
People’S Republic Of China ◽  
Chinese Government ◽  
People's Republic Of China ◽  
Credit System ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Social Credit ◽  
Legal Provisions ◽  
The Social

This article examines the normative legal framework and principles of functionality of the Social Credit System that is currently being implemented in the People's Republic of China. For the first time in legal science, the Social Credit System is viewed not as an organizational and regulatory technique that in one or another way is related to law, but rather as an independent legal institution relevant to the branch of administrative law. The application of formal-legal and comparative-legal methods allows describing the hierarchy of sources of the Chinese law pertaining to social credit mechanisms and procedures, as well as giving characteristics to major provisions of the corresponding normative acts. The peculiarities of legal regulation of the mechanisms and procedures that comprise the Social Credit System in PRC include the following aspects: sublegislative nature of such regulation, prevalence of joint lawmaking, focal role of normative legal acts of the Chinese government, declarative character and ambiguity of multiple legal provisions with regards to the Social Credit System. The author underline the specificity of interpretation of the normative legal acts of the People's Republic of China, usage by the lawmaking branches of moral categories in formulation of provisions for regulation of elaboration and implementation of the social credit mechanisms. The provisions of governmental and departmental normative legal acts pertaining to the Social Credit System are correlated with the provisions of the current Constitution of the People's Republic of China.

scholarly journals Transforming Society for the Better?

MaRBLe ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadja Aldendorff
Keyword(s):  
Moral Virtue ◽  
The State ◽  
Chinese Society ◽  
State Council ◽  
Credit System ◽  
The West ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Social Credit ◽  
The Government ◽  
Social Sorting

In 2014, the State Council of the People’s Republic of China released a document that called for the construction of a nationwide Social Credit System (SCS) with the goal to encourage sincerity and punish insincerity. The system uses blacklists that citizens land on for various cases of misbehavior, ranging from failing to pay a fine to being caught Jaywalking. This research explains the design process behind the SCS and in particular why many Chinese citizens are embracing this form of surveillance. It focuses on three topics to answer this question: the historical roots underlying the system, the perceived lack of trust in Chinese society and the comparison with concepts from surveillance theories developed in the West. From the analysis, following conclusions could be drawn: Historically, the state has often acted as a promoter and enforcer of moral virtue. The SCS fits perfectly into this tradition. The most prominent reason for the positive Chinese reaction is the lack of institutions in China that promote trust between citizens and businesses. There is a severe trust deficit which the government had to find a solution for. Regarding surveillance theory, Foucault’s concept of ‘panopticism’ shows similarities with the SCS and underlines its effectiveness in changing and steering people’s behavior while Lyon’s notion of ‘social sorting’ is used to demonstrate the potential dangers of the Chinese system.

scholarly journals Sesame Credit in China’s Social Management System in the 2010s

2020 ◽  
Vol 7 (3 (27)) ◽  
pp. 79-86
Author(s):  
Dmitry I. Popov
Keyword(s):  
Management System ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Credit Scoring ◽  
Information Resources ◽  
State System ◽  
Credit System ◽  
Social Credit ◽  
Chinese Company ◽  
And Control ◽  
Social Management

The article shows that the Chinese company Ant Financial is developing a social credit system named Sesame Credit going beyond the traditional credit scoring mechanism on this way. Sesame Credit aims to form “civilized behavior” of citizens as an instrument of social management and control. In the late of the 2010s some of Sesame Credit's technologies and information resources have been integrated into a large-scale state system of social credit which is still in its infancy.

The social credit system in China: a model of constitutionalism for the era of crises

2021 ◽  
Vol 30 (3) ◽  
pp. 63-85
Author(s):  
Roman Ruvinskiy
Keyword(s):  
Public Administration ◽  
State Power ◽  
Constitutional Rights ◽  
Political Subjectivity ◽  
Credit System ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Social Credit ◽  
Starting Point ◽  
The Social ◽  
State Of Affairs

This paper focuses on the probable transformative effects of the application of the Chinese Social Credit System and similar projects in the realm of public administration on constitutional rights and freedoms, balances in citizen-state relations, and the model of statehood. The starting point of the research is the assumption that the Social Credit System, despite its specifically national Chinese peculiarities, can be seen as a reflection of a broader tendency towards the use of reputational information, techniques of ranking (grading) and risk management in the process of exercising the state power. To test this hypothesis, the author analyzes the actual experience of the Social Credit System’s introduction in the People’s Republic of China, compares this project with e-government projects, and proposes the umbrella-term of “social-credit mechanisms” to describe procedures and means of social control, based on the permanent collection and analysis of reputation data relating to persons. It is argued in this paper that the introduction of social-credit mechanisms to the practice of public administration ultimately leads to the emergence of a gap between formally enshrined rights and the actual ability to exercise them, between the legal capacity of a person and the ability to realise this capacity in certain legal relations. Examining the prospects of introduction of reputation-based social-credit mechanisms to the public administration, the author notices the probability of discrimination against persons who took a false step. As is demonstrated in the paper, the use of reputation data and social ratings by state authorities may result in the gradual differentiation in quality and scope of public services depending on social ratings (grades) of their addressees. This state of affairs may signify the birth of a new caste society and the end of the principle of equality before the law. According to the conclusions made in the paper, projects akin the Chinese Social Credit System reflect the global tendency towards the formation of a new type of constitutionalism. In the framework of this new constitutionalism the main emphasis will be shifted from citizens’ democratic participation in the execution of state power and the citizenry’s political subjectivity to ensure public safety and social stability. The issue of social-credit mechanisms’ introduction to the process of public administration is de facto an issue between the values of freedom and the values of security — the issue of choosing between political subjectivity and guaranteed biological existence.

scholarly journals The Social Credit System of the People’s Republic of China through the Eyes of Foreign Researchers

2020 ◽  
pp. 20-31
Author(s):  
Ju. Р. Bayer ◽  
V. A. Vasilyeva ◽  
I. A. Vetrenko
Keyword(s):  
Main Task ◽  
Credit System ◽  
World Science ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Golden Mean ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Peace Of Mind ◽  
Social Credit ◽  
The Social ◽  
The World

The purpose of this article is to identify and analyze the ideas currently available in world science and practice among foreign researchers on the Social Credit System (SCS). The article analyzes the basic principles of SCS, which allowed us to draw the following conclusions: the social credit system for China is very close to ours mentally and historically, it fits well with the management paradigm based on the principles of Confucianism and Taoism, its main task is to promote the formation of citizens’ behavior based on openness, following rituals.The main conclusions are made, such as the fact that this system allows you to put into practice the principle of the golden mean, that the application of SCS will contribute to the formation of citizens’ behavior on the basis of openness, following rituals and the desire for peace of mind. The formation of the population’s habit of living in the context of SCS, as the authors believe, will help to increase the sincerity of life. An analysis of the materials of foreign researchers was carried out in the article, which gave reason to conclude that the social credit system, launched in China, so far scares the rest of the world. In this regard, the article discusses the five main fears associated with SCS, as well as the five advantages of introducing this system, draws conclusions, and develops recommendations.

scholarly journals Transforming Society for the Better?

MaRBLe ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nadja Aldendorff
Keyword(s):  
Moral Virtue ◽  
The State ◽  
Chinese Society ◽  
State Council ◽  
Credit System ◽  
The West ◽  
Republic Of China ◽  
Social Credit ◽  
The Government ◽  
Social Sorting

In 2014, the State Council of the People’s Republic of China released a document that called for the construction of a nationwide Social Credit System (SCS) with the goal to encourage sincerity and punish insincerity. The system uses blacklists that citizens land on for various cases of misbehavior, ranging from failing to pay a fine to being caught Jaywalking. This research explains the design process behind the SCS and in particular why many Chinese citizens are embracing this form of surveillance. It focuses on three topics to answer this question: the historical roots underlying the system, the perceived lack of trust in Chinese society and the comparison with concepts from surveillance theories developed in the West. From the analysis, following conclusions could be drawn: Historically, the state has often acted as a promoter and enforcer of moral virtue. The SCS fits perfectly into this tradition. The most prominent reason for the positive Chinese reaction is the lack of institutions in China that promote trust between citizens and businesses. There is a severe trust deficit which the government had to find a solution for. Regarding surveillance theory, Foucault’s concept of ‘panopticism’ shows similarities with the SCS and underlines its effectiveness in changing and steering people’s behavior while Lyon’s notion of ‘social sorting’ is used to demonstrate the potential dangers of the Chinese system.

scholarly journals Tackling Delinquency in the Era of Social Credit System: Prospects and Risks

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (3) ◽  
pp. 282-294
Author(s):  
Roman Rouvinsky ◽  
Evgeny Tsarev
Keyword(s):  
Artificial Intelligence ◽  
Big Data ◽  
Social Control ◽  
Legal System ◽  
Data Analytics ◽  
Big Data Analytics ◽  
Legal Liability ◽  
Credit System ◽  
Social Credit ◽  
The Social

The paper is devoted to the changes in fighting delinquency connected to the application of artificial intelligence and Big Data analytics. The focus of the paper has been made on the Social Credit System and related advanced mechanisms of control and surveillance, which are currently being built and implemented in China. The issue of how the latest technologies of social control impact the fight against crimes and administrative offences has been examined. The transforming effect of introduction of the Social Credit System and algorithmic mechanisms of social control upon the legal system and some of its institutions (notably, the legal liability institution, the punishment, the concept of an offender) has been assessed in the paper. The authors come to the conclusion that the introduction of the Social Credit System in China and the development of algorithmic mechanisms of social control and crime prevention may lead to the separation of punishment from the construct of legal liability and the concept of an offence as a guilty deed.

Merit, Morality, and Market

2020 ◽  
pp. 228-240
Author(s):  
Jonathan Bach
Keyword(s):  
Social Control ◽  
Population Control ◽  
Automated System ◽  
Credit System ◽  
Social Credit ◽  
Policy Experimentation ◽  
Share Data ◽  
Financial Credit ◽  
Rewards And Punishment ◽  
The Right

China’s “Social Credit System” is an audacious national endeavor to collect, digitize, and share data on hundreds of millions of people to generate an automated system of rewards and punishment. Its spirit of social control and merit-based social organization shows how market-based systems of sorting, rewarding, and punishing consumers are being recombined with state-led attempts to organize society. This chapter asks what this experiment with social control tells us about the regimes of performance, valuation, and competition that this volume shows emerging in the West, and about China’s forty years of “Reform and Opening.” It examines how the Social Credit System emerged as a techno-utopian response to the interrelated challenges of productivity, trust, and population control, and how the state uses extensive policy experimentation to realize its goal of combining financial credit extension with social behavior modification in pursuit of the “right” balance between merit, morality, and the market.

Social credit will affect foreign firms in China

2019 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Credit Scoring ◽  
Regulatory Compliance ◽  
Foreign Firms ◽  
Credit System ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Playing Field ◽  
Foreign Companies ◽  
Social Credit ◽  
Corporate Social ◽  
The Cost

Subject China's corporate social credit system. Significance The corporate social credit system (CSCS) is now at a decisive stage as the authorities ramp up implementation and expansion nationwide. All companies, including foreign enterprises, will have to participate. Impacts Foreign companies operating in China will have to provide more data for credit scoring. The information made publicly available on CSCS platforms will be useful in evaluating the trustworthiness of business partners in China. The CSCS may level the playing field for foreign firms, because it is based on objective regulatory compliance measures. The CSCS will increase the cost of non-compliance with laws and regulations.

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