I've heard somewhere that the social credit system is really misrepresented in the West - it's designed to track financial scammers and people who set up fraudulent companies. It's meant to weed out untrustworthy business partners, just like how the Western credit system is designed to weed out untrustworthy bankers. (Weird how the only 'group' in the West who gets implicit protection against scams are the banks)
It doesn't really concern the everyman on the street.
The few high profile cases where it was used to punish individuals who ran afoul of some politically powerful person or caused some huge outrage are red herrings - if the system didn't exist, theyd've found some other way to punish them.
The articles functionally stated that you couldn't get an apartment, or pay for a hotel room if you were caught jaywalking or walking around with a scowl on your face.
It doesn't really concern the everyman on the street.
The few high profile cases where it was used to punish individuals who ran afoul of some politically powerful person or caused some huge outrage are red herrings - if the system didn't exist, theyd've found some other way to punish them.