China’s Rating System: Nothing Like Copiosis

Someone responded to an article about Copiosis on Medium. We’re reposting our response because it’s a common comparison. Let’s set the record straight about differences between China’s social credit system and Copiosis’ reputation accounts.

It would be wrong to compare Copiosis Reputation Accounts to China’s Social Credit system and claim Reputation Accounts are “better than” China’s system. That’s because the two can’t be compared.

Doing so would be like comparing a car to a rock. There is no comparison. Here are ten really good points differentiating Copiosis from China’s social credits system.

1. Volunteers run the Copiosis system. There’s no central “authority”. Anyone can join the organization running the system after learning how it works. That means you can get involved. So can your friends and neighbors. The system is recursive, with community versions, city versions, regional versions…all the way up to international versions. All these versions talk to each other, ensuring integration between all systems. All this is run entirely by volunteers. Of course, and this is important, these volunteers, like anyone else in Copiosis, including you, should you choose to be part of it, are rewarded NBR when their actions produce Net Benefit. If their actions don’t do that, they get no NBR. So they’re no different than anyone else. Meaning, they benefit from the same incentives everyone else does. No more. No less. Can you say any of this about China’s communist party and how the party controls groups? Particularly minorities? Nope. You can’t.
2. The Copiosis system includes many aspects all foreign to China’s program. The Copiosis algorithm, if you look at it, comprises specific measures designed to improve life for everyone, including all minorities and all political persuasions. Can you say that about China’s system? Nope. It’s proven to be exactly the opposite. Reputation Accounts in Copiosis are public. They comprise “declarations” on a person’s behavior. These declarations are made voluntarily by people who witness or experience what’s in the declaration. They can be positive or negative. Either way, the Copiosis Organization (the volunteers in 1 above) vet every declaration to make sure they are true and accurate. If they are proven false, it’s possible (and likely) the person making the declaration will receive a negative declaration on their reputation account. So instead of a state or party making the declarations, your fellow community members do it. Again, completely different from China’s program. No-cost necessities in Copiosis allows every person real freedom. Not having to earn a living makes people nicer. So you can expect their reputations improve over time as nice people make different choices. Are necessities provided to all citizens in China at not cost to anyone? Decidedly not. Gated Luxuries in Copiosis motivate producers to make things. There is no coercion though. If you don’t want to make anything, or contribute to that, you don’t have to. And you can still get your healthcare, education, food, clothing and housing at no cost to you or anyone else. But those who do do things to get NBR can use their NBR for fantastic goods and services. And, anyone can get NBR. Is this true in China? Again: Nope. The NBR Concept, our crown jewel, will not be found anywhere on the planet. The way we calculate benefit is unheard of in this reality. Thus it alone distinguishes Copiosis from China’s program, enabling an upward spiral of virtually every human act. Private Property: all property is private in Copiosis. I think ‘nuff said there. Little to no government. What government exists in Copiosis exists to perform functionary acts. It has no real authority because it doesn’t need any. The People have all the authority in Copiosis. That authority is held in check by the NBR system. Need I share more? Well YES! This is just 3 of 10! Let’s go on!
3. There are no penalties from on high in Copiosis but there are from your peers. You are not punished in Copiosis by some government overseer. You can’t go to jail because of your reputation. You’re free. But your fellow community members can decide not to give you necessities they own (all property is private). They can also decide not to give you any luxuries they own. That’s their right because, like you in Copiosis, they are 100 percent free. So if you want stuff, you probably want to be a nice person. And if you are, you don’t have to worry about Copiosis Reputation Accounts. Do you?
4. Your NBR can’t be taken from you in any way. There’s no way at all for a government to take your “money” (NBR). Period. No fines. No fees. No financial penalties. No debt. Is this the case in China?
5. Your community rates you through verified Reputation Accounts, not government. I covered this above in 1, but let’s reiterate it as a separate point because it’s that important. A party, or government is not rating you. Your fellow citizens close to you are. They are describing behavior you exhibit in their interactions with you. Those behavior declarations go into your Reputation Account. People reviewing your Reputation Account decide what those declarations mean (for them). So if you’ve had 52 car accidents and you’re wanting to borrow my car, and I see in your Reputation Account that you’ve had 52 accidents, I’m not letting you near my car. See? Every declaration is vetted for accuracy. You even have the ability to contest a declaration. Can you say all this for China’s system? You can’t.
6. Reputation accounts are voluntary with bogus ones backfiring on the community member who declared it. Again, you can’t make a false declaration and get away with it. You can’t coerce others do to that either. You can’t use declarations to marginalize minorities because declarations must be factually accurate. Is this the case in China?
7. Copiosis is a totally free system. Everyone is free do to whatever they want, checked by the Net Benefit Principle. That simply means actions that produce benefit on the net get you paid. Actions that don’t, get you nothing. But you don’t starve, die of illness, go bankrupt, lose your house, or any other detrimental thing as a result of your action. Indeed, someone will likely reach out to help you act better. Why? Because they’ll be rewarded. And you’ll become a better person. Can you say this is happening in China’s system? It’s actually exactly the opposite: Community members are turning on one another.
8. Those who identify wrong-doing, or malfeasance are rewarded. If a person sees something wrong and points it out, they get rewarded. So if someone sees someone trying to coerce someone else, or manipulate the system in some negative way, and they point that out, they get a reward. Is this the case in China? In China, you are coerced into informing on your friends. For the favor, you stay out of scrutiny.
9. Those who fix what’s found in 8 are rewarded too. Further, once pointed out, the people who fix the problem get paid. The bigger the problem they solve (ie the bigger impact the solution creates) the more they’re paid. Is this true in China? Nope.
10. Copiosis is founded on creating real freedom, not totalitarian control. Based on everything you’ve read, this should seem pretty obvious. There is nothing remotely similar between China’s system and Copiosis.