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We already live in social credit, we just don't call it that

thenexus.media

621–630 of 727 posts

Re: We already live in social credit, we just don't call it that

#621

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, this is it. I've lived under governments of a variety of different stripes in some very different parts of the world, I've lived in war zones. Day to day life has been more or less the same across all of them. You go shopping, go to work, see friends, have a few beers or maybe a smoke, eat out, go to weddings, birthdays and funerals, play sports. People run businesses, post memes. The way non-OECD, "non-democra…

> Day to day life has been more or less the same across all of them. This is a wild take, unless you mean that in thw sense of wake up, eat, work and sleep kind of way. If I call the prime minister a criminal liar - worst that will happen is I get a defamation lawsuit. In authoritarian countries I go to a prison camp, and the neighbors are the one to report me. Even if I'm not political - if step on toes of people in…

> If I call the prime minister a criminal liar - worst that will happen is I get a defamation lawsuit. In authoritarian countries I go to a prison camp, and the neighbors are the one to report me. Even if I'm not political - if step on toes of people in party I can disappear and the rest will know not to ask questions.

Try implementing direct political action and see how Western governments treat you. You'll be deemed a terrorist, and if you're caught alive, you'll never see the sun again.

Re: We already live in social credit, we just don't call it that

#623

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Then life is not ok at all and there is approximately nothing you can do about it. To return to parent's point, we want to say it applies only in autocratic countries, when we have similar pockets of despair as well. Not everyone can just "fight the man" if they feel prayed upon or abused. Most here can probably solve critical issues with money or even move countries if/when shit hits the fan. But lower social clas…

It certainly is. I’m not pretending that liberal democracies are perfect. Ensuring that the one with the least power or at the margin don’t become victims and remain free is a constant struggle but people are fighting it. It can be a dispiriting one when you go through times like the one of the USA are currently traversing It would be a deep mistake however to fall from the traditional defence of illiberal countries…

I look at it from a different lens: the political system and what people's life look like isn't a predefined matrix.

To take a mild example, we don't look at federal countries and assume it affects citizen's life in a radical way that can be straight attributed to the federal nature of it. Germany biggest differences from France probably aren't because of that. Sure it has an impact, but not in an easily predictable way.

Authoritarian regime are prone to abuse, but that's not enough to guarantee it will be managed worse than the worse democratic countries. We've have democracies fully melt down and becoming literal hell on earth.

I don't intend to praise authoritarian regimes and don't see them as sustainable, but IMHO there is a lot more to a country than just that.

Re: We already live in social credit, we just don't call it that

#624

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Day to day life has been more or less the same across all of them. This is a wild take, unless you mean that in thw sense of wake up, eat, work and sleep kind of way. If I call the prime minister a criminal liar - worst that will happen is I get a defamation lawsuit. In authoritarian countries I go to a prison camp, and the neighbors are the one to report me. Even if I'm not political - if step on toes of people in…

>unless you mean that in thw sense of wake up, eat, work and sleep kind of way. this is what 99% of people spend 99% of their time on. If you give most people the choice between a place that has jobs, clean trains and where women can walk safely at night and one that looks like the Purge but you can insult the prime minister we can make a bet how people will vote with their feet. This is why China makes the claim tha…

> This is why China makes the claim that it is actually more democratic[1]. This is not merely propaganda.

It's wild to me that you believe this.

I've spent a few years in China and have made close Chinese friends. One constant I see is Chinese will not admit publicly, but they'll whisper to you in quiet corners that that know their government is authoritarian and the West is more free.

Re: We already live in social credit, we just don't call it that

#625
post #477

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm not saying everywhere is identical, there's a spectrum Why such drama with many words, when all can be summed up with that. Yet somehow, people consider life much better on one side of the spectrum, while other side is considered utter shit. So much that many people are risking their lives, and some are dying just to 'move across spectrum'. It may be a hard concept to grok for typical western kids who often str…

Heh, what country are you from? What time period are you talking about? Is it your lived experience or the second-hand memory? I lived in Bulgaria & Czechoslovakia in 70's and 80's, and my memories are quite different than yours. You can buy fresh vegetables and fruits (in-season, local, not shipped from Peru) & dairy products & bread & eggs as much as you can afford (and the prices were affordable, stable for a doze…

>Unlike the west, where most people still believe the official narratives.

Tell me what these narratives are. I do not disagree, but I am a westerner who never left home.

Re: We already live in social credit, we just don't call it that

#626

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Heh, what country are you from? What time period are you talking about? Is it your lived experience or the second-hand memory? I lived in Bulgaria & Czechoslovakia in 70's and 80's, and my memories are quite different than yours. You can buy fresh vegetables and fruits (in-season, local, not shipped from Peru) & dairy products & bread & eggs as much as you can afford (and the prices were affordable, stable for a doze…

I think your view is a tad optimistic. Many people had difficult lives just because they didn’t want to be members of the party. Thier kids didn’t get to good schools, or got to the one 30 minutes by train, they lost jobs and were forced to dry laundry with engineering degrees. There was even a joke about this: ⸻ In Poland, during the times of hard socialism, a math associate professor calculated that a shipyard work…

>were forced to dry laundry with engineering degrees.

This sort of thing is happening in the states. Maybe we're the commies now.

Re: We already live in social credit, we just don't call it that

#627
post #517
post #507

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Democracy is the opium for the masses.

I won't try to evaluate that. For me, as a born eccentric, aspects of the concept terrify me. I tend to favor the principles of a Republic, with unassailable foundations impervious to popular fervors and whims. Ideally with heavy democratic principles fortifying the Republic. I don't see either. I look at recent affairs with FTC for example, and too many things to list. I don't even know what to call what I see. Reci…

We should try sortition.

Re: We already live in social credit, we just don't call it that

#628
post #446

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This seems identical to saying that convincing someone with anorexia that they aren't overweight is "social death", and "social death" is (somehow) genocide. I.e. it's nonsense.

The obvious difference is that people with anorexia die and people who transition live happily.

Uh, some do.

Re: We already live in social credit, we just don't call it that

#629

I moved from Canada to California for a new job with a mid six figure salary. I had a very difficult time finding a place to rent as I had no credit score. Only places that were available without credit score was a room to share. That was not an option with a cat, wife and kids. Finally, I found a place that was willing to accept the entire year's rent up front. Moving such a large amount of money from Canada to US h…

Wow. Thank you for sharing this. I have never been to the US (Germany, Singapore)... this sounds just completely and utterly bonkers to me.
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