A Social Credit System is a national government-facilitated rating system that rewards citizens for good behaviour and sanctions them for bad behaviour. 1. It evaluates a defined set of actions that includes but goes beyond illegal or legally-obligatory acts (e.g., charitable donations, recycling, volunteer work; or jaywalking, and littering). 2. Scores can be given by members of the public, corporations, NGOs, and the government. 3. Based on these scores, the government applies rewards and sanctions (e.g., fast-track through airport security, government-subsidised mortgages, free public transportation; or higher tax, slower document-processing times, and increased barriers to public sector jobs).

In economics, inflation is a general increase in the prices of goods and services in an economy. When the general price level rises, each unit of currency buys fewer goods and services; consequently, inflation corresponds to a reduction in the purchasing power of money.

The television show The Wire depicts a plan called “Hamsterdam” in which police let people sell drugs in isolated places, and only those places, without fear of arrest.

“Big Tech” is a term used to describe large technology companies that, because of their size and market share, wield disproportionate economic and social influence. These companies include Amazon, FACEBOOK and Alphabet (Google’s parent company).

Gentrification is a process when significant numbers of wealthier people move to an area traditionally inhabited by lower income and often minority individuals and businesses.

Cloning is the process of producing individual organisms with identical or virtually identical DNA. In the US, companies currently offer pet cloning as a commercial service. This technology is improving.