Innovative society: a social credit system in China

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Abstract

Urgency of the research. Considerable state support for scientific and technological research, their testing and implementation into social practice gives grounds to evaluate modern Chinese society as innovative. Significant social transformations take place at all levels of socio-political life: from management practices and strategies to the ordinary daily activities of citizens. The biggest resonance is the implementation of the Social Credit System (SCS) as a nationwide program for the implementation of educational and monitoring function. This experience is exemplary and significant for the study of an innovative society. Target settings. The Chinese government positions its country's policies as open and democratic. But there is a reason to believe that this assessment is somewhat biased, since China is an economically successful socialist state against the backdrop of global world capitalism. Therefore, the research and analytics of the innovative society in China, especially in view of the total government program of the Social Credit System (SCS), is an important problem of modern social philosophy and humanitarian knowledge in general. Analysis of recent research and publications. An analysis of recent publications on the problem of research shows that the problem of innovative society in China is a pressing issue for modern humanities. Thus, Yongnian Zheng (2010) argues that the main driver of change in the social transformation of modern China is its openness policy. Xiao Ying (2015) proposes to change the methodology of China's innovative society analytics. Unlike the traditional categories of state and society, the author proposes to introduce the concepts of institutions and life. Another researcher Gladys Pak Lei Chong (2019) points out that post-socialist China is consumer oriented, so Social Credit Systems are evolving as a government program on an economic platform. Zhuo Huang, Yang Lei & Shihan Shen (2016) explore the development of a Chinese government-oriented personal credit reporting system. Donghee (Don) Shin (2019) considers widespread implementation of algorithms as the basis for the development of an innovative society in China. The research objective. The main objective of the article is to analyze the implementation of the government program of the Social Credit System (SCS) in China's innovation society. The statement of basic material. The basic principles of SCS implementation are as follows:

Formation of sustainable social structure and its operational management; Monitoring and correction of social transformations and behavior of the general population: transparency as a major factor in the life of an innovative society; Stimulating competition as a motivation for success. Due to the transparency of social life, different patterns of behavior in different conditions are published in the information space of the society. Accordingly, actionable life scenarios are made available to the general public, which is fulfilling an educational mission regarding adaptation mechanisms in an innovative society; the SCS system is a significant component of the national strategy of integration and consolidation of the Chinese innovation society; carrying out softpolicy foreign policy: The positive experience of the Chinese innovation society in implementing SCS is a prerequisite for expanding its area of application in Asian, African and Latin American countries, especially the countries participating in the One Belt One Road project. SCS covers all spheres of social life of the modern Chinese citizen, forms a sustainable form of accountability to the society for the content and flow of their daily activities, aspirations and preferences. Conclusions. China's innovative society is illustrative and significant for today's social transformation. The Chinese state's experience in implementing technical and managerial innovations is advanced and unique in nature. Particular attention should be paid to the study of the features of implementation of the Social Credit System. Such a state strategy for building an innovative society is aimed not only at supporting the stability of the socio-political system of modern China, but also at providing the necessary direction for the development of the state and society, social institutions and the content of daily practices. Key words: innovative society, Social Credit System, monitoring, «Chinese Dream».

Анотація

Інноваційне суспільство: система соціального кредиту в Китаї

Актуальність теми дослідження. Значна державна підтримка наукових та технологічних досліджень, їхня апробація та впровадження в соціальну практику дає підстави оцінювати сучасне китайське суспільство як інноваційне. Значні та суттєві соціальні трансформації мають місце на всіх рівнях соціально-політичного життя: від управлінських практик та стратегій до звичайних щоденних активностей громадян. Найбільший резонанс викликає впровадження Системи Соціального Кредиту (SCS) як загальнодержавної програми з реалізації виховної та моніторингової функції. Цей досвід є показовим та знаковим для дослідження інноваційного суспільства. Постановка проблеми. Китайський уряд позиціонує політику своєї держави як відкриту та демократичну. Але є підстави вважати таку оцінку дещо упередженою, оскільки Китай є економічно успішною соціалістичною державою на тлі глобального світового капіталізму. Тому дослідження та аналітика інноваційного суспільства в Китаї, особливо з огляду на тотальну урядову програми Системи Соціального Кредиту (SCS) є важливою проблемою сучасної соціальної філософії та гуманітарного знання в цілому. Аналіз останніх досліджень і публікацій. Аналіз останніх публікацій з проблеми дослідження свідчить, що проблема інноваційного суспільства у Китаї є актуальним питанням для сучасного гуманітарного знання. Так, Yongnian Zheng (2010) доводить, що основним рушієм змін суспільних трансформацій сучасного Китаю є політика його відкритості. Xiao Ying (2015) пропонує змінити методологію аналітики інноваційного суспільства Китаю. На відміну від традиційних категорій «держава та суспільство», автор пропонує впроваджувати концепти «інститути та життя». Інший дослідник Gladys Pak Lei Chong (2019) наголошує, що постсоціалістичний Китай орієнтований на споживання, тому системи соціального кредитування розвиваються як урядова програма на економічній платформі. Zhuo Huang, Yang Lei & Shihan Shen (2016) досліджують розвиток китайської системи особистої кредитної звітності, що орієнтована на уряд. Donghee (Don) Shin (2019) вважає основою становлення інноваційного суспільства в Китаї широке впровадження алгоритмів. Постановка завдання. Основним завданням статті є аналітика впровадження урядової програми Системи Соціального Кредиту (SCS) в інноваційному суспільстві Китаю. Виклад основного матеріалу. Основними принципами впровадження програми SCS є наступні: формування стійкої соціальної структури та оперативного керування нею; моніторинг та корекція соціальних трансформацій та поведінки широких верств населення: прозорість як основний чинник життя інноваційного суспільства; стимулювання конкуренції як мотивації досягнення успіху. Завдяки прозорості суспільного життя в інформаційному просторі соціуму оприлюднюються різні зразки поведінки в тих або інших умовах; система SCS є значним компонентом державної стратегії інтеграції та консолідації китайського інноваційного суспільства; проведення зовнішньої політики за принципом «soft power»: позитивний досвід китайського інноваційного суспільства із впровадження SCS має передумови до поширення зони її впровадження у країнах Азії, Африки та Латинської Америки, особливо країнам-учасницям проекту «Один пояс - один шлях». SCS охоплює всі сфери соціального життя сучасного громадянина китайської держави, формує стійку форму звітності перед суспільством за зміст та перебіг своїх щоденних активностей, прагнень та уподобань. Висновки. Інноваційне суспільство Китаю є показовим та знаковим для сучасних соціальних трансформацій. Досвід китайської держави із впровадження інновацій технічного та управлінського характеру передовим та унікальним по своїй суті. Особливої уваги потребує вивчення особливостей впровадження Системи Соціального Кредиту.

Така державна стратегія розбудови інноваційного суспільства спрямована не тільки на підтримку стабільності соціально-політичної системи сучасного Китаю, але і на забезпечення необхідного напрямку розвитку держави та суспільства, соціальних інституцій та змісту щоденних практик.

Ключові слова: інноваційне суспільство, Система Соціального Кредиту, моніторинг, «китайська мрія».

Main part

Urgency of the research. Considerable state support for scientific and technological research, their testing and implementation into social practice gives grounds to evaluate modern Chinese society as innovative. Significant and significant social transformations take place at all levels of socio-political life: from management practices and strategies to the ordinary daily activities of citizens. While leading Western countries are cutting funding for research, the Chinese government is actively investing in the development of science and technology. Non-cash calculation, growing number of organizations and enterprises engaged in manufacturing and providing services, general informatization of Chinese society - all these factors significantly transform the qualitative components of the social life of the Chinese state. The biggest resonance is the implementation of the Social Credit System (SCS) as a nationwide program for the implementation of educational and monitoring function. This experience is exemplary and significant for the study of an innovative society.

Target setting. The Chinese government positions its country's policies as open and democratic. But there is reason to believe that this assessment is somewhat biased, since China is an economically successful socialist state against the backdrop of global world capitalism. Therefore, the research and analytics of the innovative society in China, especially in view of the total government program of the Social Credit System (SCS), is an important problem of modern social philosophy and humanitarian knowledge in general.

Actual scientific researches and issues analysis. An analysis of recent publications on the problem of research shows that the problem of innovative society in China is a pressing issue for modern humanities. Thus, Yongnian Zheng (2010) argues that the main driver of change in social transformations in modern China is its openness policy: «The mounting problems and dissatisfaction resulting from China's market - oriented development over the past three decades show that China's policy shifts are long overdue, but one should not read too much into the official rhetoric of a policy shift from growth to greater social service provision. On the one hand, China still depends on market-oriented development to deal with the socio-economic side-effects of growth. On the other hand, China's current governance system has a built-in bias toward market growth, particularly below the central state level» [9, p. 810]. In the context of the internal dimensions of the Chinese state, effective institutions are being formed at the expense of the corresponding reorganization, which provide intensive dynamics of transformations. According to the author, implementing an open-ended strategy contributes to China's integration into the world community and optimizes the internal transformations of modern Chinese society. Xiao Ying (2015) proposes to change the methodology of China's innovative society analytics. Unlike the traditional categories of state and society, the author proposes to introduce the concepts of institutions and life. In the course of such discursive analysis, the contradictions of direct requests of social action agents and formalized public relations in the form of institutions are manifested: «Conversely, when we analyze «endogenous institutional change» as an overall process, this equates to examining the complex interactive process of institutions and life, allowing us to better understand why China has repeatedly been «talked down» in recent decades but still retains its innovative vitality and overall order. First, at the level of practice, formal institutions have ample space and capacity for mitigating their negative effect on living subjects. Second, the agents of formal institutions can learn from informal institutions and their implementation strategies, and may even institutionalize these, thus easing the tension between institutions and life. Third, the practice of formal institutions is a complex process in which regional differences, gender differences and even personal differences may exist. Although the contradictions between institutions and life are ever present and always changing, their production and resolution coexist in the same process, as do regional differences and the overall balance. This has shaped the unique logic of social change and overall stability in China» [8, p. 83]. This approach, according to the author, makes it possible to explore the logic of building an innovative society in modern China.

Another researcher Gladys Pak Lei Chong (2019) points out, that post-socialist China is consumer oriented, so social credit systems are evolving as a government program on an economic platform. Yes, a massive Sesame Credit consumer database is used to evaluate the reliability of users' credit data. Alipay embodies harmonization of social life dynamics and traditions of monitoring population behavior: «Its selfpositioning, coupled with its authoritative role in a well-formulated social credit system, strengthens perceptions of this platform as a trustworthy and secure payment app. This positive image corresponds to the state - and media-led discourses on how technology (e.g. big data, facial recognition technology, and CCTV) helps fight crime and criminals, monitors undesirable behavior, understands the needs of the population, and above all makes China a safer and more secure place» [2, p. 11]. The author points out that these systems operate on all the principles of an innovative society: high technology, depolitization, individual approach to consumers, gaming features and loyalty programs.

Zhuo Huang, Yang Lei & Shihan Shen (2016) explore the development of a Chinese government-oriented personal credit reporting system: «The credit reporting system provides a sharing platform that enables specialized credit agencies to reduce information asymmetry between borrowers and lenders. By mitigating adverse selection and moral hazard, the credit reporting system contributes to improving the quality of financial markets. Lenders often try to determine the creditworthiness of borrowers through artificial investigation to deal with adverse selection. However, in the credit reporting system, the credit bureaus facilitate transactions through the provision of credit scores and reports on credit history, so both parties can quickly and fully grasp each other's credit status. The credit reporting system then filters better customers for the financial institutions, reducing the costs of dealing with loans and increasing the borrowing willingness of prime borrowers» [4, p. 290].

Donghee Shin (2019) considers widespread implementation of algorithms as the basis for the development of an innovative society in China. China's traditional culture is ritualized, and innovative society is algorithmic at the level of social, economic, political and legal life. The author is convinced that such schematism makes the system of management and implementation of public policy more effective.

Therefore, the expansion of the Social Credit System, or trust - SCS, is an important part of shaping China's innovative society. The origins of such public policy have thousands of years of cultural tradition. The system of «baodzya» was extended in the IV century. According to it, the principle of collective responsibility and accountability for the life of individual community and community is substantiated. Thus, the punishment for crimes and disobedience of individual citizens extends to all subjects of social life at a particular locus. The system of collective support, control and reporting is organically inherent in the Chinese mentality. Philosophically, it is grounded in discussions of Confucianism and Legalism. However, the current scale of implementation of this strategy is truly impressive.

The research objective. The main objective of the article is to analyze the implementation of the government program of the Social Credit System (SCS) in China's innovation society.

The statement of basic material. The active implementation of the Social Credit System began in 2007 as the ideology of openness and progress of an innovative Chinese society, in which the concept of «Chinese Dream» is implemented. Unlike the «American Dream,» China's development strategy relies on a traditional culture whose political foundation is socialism. Socialism can be built on the basis of social trust and cohesion. That is why the Chinese dream is an expression of the common goals and aspirations of Chinese society. In other words, the dialectic of social and individual is described in Chinese society as a harmony of community and state, obligation and belief, social norm and individual need. The regulatory principle is a common understanding of the fairness of the social system, and the driving force is the selfimprovement of every citizen. In China's innovation society, trust is not an abstract category. The Chinese government approaches the issue of social trust pragmatically, systematically and consistently. That is why, since 2016, government programs have been in place, according to which trust in the citizen is a value that needs to be constantly upheld and justified. At the same time, the principle of harmony between the social and the individual is reflected in the implementation of the program of the Social Credit System: assessing the integrity of an individual's life is performed by artificial intelligence according to the indicators and criteria, which are recognized by the majority of modern Chinese society.

The implementation of SCS is first and foremost an educational goal. Yes, reporting on the course of one's life, his or her assessment and self-esteem, disciplines citizens, motivates them to make a conscious and predictable lifestyle. And having a rating in this system encourages competition between individuals, which strengthens the desire for selfimprovement. In the short term, it is envisaged to involve in such rating various structures and organizations, companies and institutions, which will make their activity more transparent and effective. That is, the categories of cohesion and trust include not only personal responsibility but also legal, institutional, industrial and managerial.

The basic principles of SCS implementation are as follows:

1 Formation of a sustainable social structure and its operational management: the population reports to the government and conceptually outlines the social request for the content of the state strategy.

2 Monitoring and correction of social transformations and behavior of the general population: transparency as a major factor in the life of an innovative society.

3 Fostering competition as a motivation for success. Due to the transparency of social life, different patterns of behavior in different conditions are published in the information space of the society. Accordingly, actionable life scenarios are made available to the public, which is fulfilling an educational mission regarding adaptation mechanisms in an innovative society.

4 SCS is a significant component of the national strategy for integrating and consolidating China's innovative society. It is well known, that China is the country with the largest population in the world. Therefore, the problem of attracting citizens to their united state at the level of their daily life and the common norms and values that determine its course is a shrewd strategy of the Chinese government.

5 Carrying out soft-policy foreign policy: The positive experience of the Chinese innovation society in implementing SCS is a prerequisite for expanding its area of application in Asian, African and Latin American countries, especially the countries participating in the One Belt - One Road project. Thus, a program focused on addressing the internal problems of modern social life of the Chinese state is at the same time a significant lever of influence on other allied states.

At present, there is no list of the main criteria for assessing the integrity of a Chinese citizen. However, the main groups of factors are known, the content of which influences the social rating of an individual.

1. Official data, that is, personal data: surname, first name, place and date of birth, place of residence, marital status, personal property information and law enforcement information.

2. Control data - Chinese innovation in the regulation of social life. This range of indicators reflects the correspondence of the facts that characterize the citizen to real life events. Self-reporting disciplines the individual and promotes the internalization of social norms.

3. Signal data shall be formed on the basis of analysis and systematization of video surveillance information and consumer needs of the citizen, which are satisfied through the Internet. If information from these sources indicates a high level of moral qualities of the individual, then the system provides for its promotion by increasing its social rating. Otherwise, if the behavior as a whole or the goods purchased by the citizen indicates a low level of moral qualities, then a number of punishment measures are envisaged: low speed of the Internet, ban on buying tickets, unavailability of educational services of a certain level and quality, ban on occupying certain positions etc.

4. Local information - information resources of individual institutions, organizations, regions. SCS is known to function on a modular basis. That is, individual information resources at the local level are able to embody the overall principles of the program. However, individual loci of information, or modules of the program, form a holistic picture of the social life of China's modern innovation society. So, with SCS, individual information resources are merged into a nationwide information space. Such bases make it possible to trace the discipline and responsibility of the citizen at his place of work, the features of career growth, credit history, or participation in socially useful initiatives.

5. Contextual indicators: public health, adherence to marital loyalty, dedication to the care of children and caring for the elderly, supportive relations with neighbors and other members of the community.

Therefore, SCS covers all spheres of social life of the modern Chinese state, forms a sustainable form of accountability to the society for the content and flow of its daily activities, aspirations and preferences. On the one hand, the implementation of such a system contributes to the consolidation of an innovative Chinese society, creates the necessary reserves to achieve common goals and implement a national strategy.

Conclusions. China's innovative society is illustrative and significant for today's social transformation. The Chinese state's experience in implementing technical and managerial innovations is advanced and unique in nature. Particular attention should be paid to the study of the features of implementation of the Social Credit System. On the one hand, the total control and monitoring of the personal, professional life of citizens of their social interaction and communication, is a cause for concern for human rights defenders of countries with advanced democracy. On the other hand, managing a population of more than 1 billion people requires a systematic and thorough approach. In addition, such a state strategy for building an innovative society is aimed not only at supporting the stability of the socio-political system of modern China, but also at providing the necessary direction for the development of the state and society, social institutions and the content of daily practices. It is believed that the introduction of the Social Credit System is motivated by the negative outcome of another powerful socialist state - the Soviet Union. Therefore, it would be legitimate to conclude that the need for such a system is conditioned by the need for the survival of the socialist state in the conditions of world capitalism and the Western model of globalization. The rationale behind the Chinese Dream concept is as utopian as any ideology. But the fact that this system is effective in stabilizing the social situation in the country and localizing a potential crisis and conflict is undeniable and proven.

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