The road to hell is paved with good intentions. What price will society pay for China’s social credit system?
- Labels are damaging and undermine our push for a more diverse world. We must avoid them at all costs
We label people more often than we realise in casual conversation, and very often it is done with no ill intent.
Some of these comments appear to be quite innocuous, such as describing someone based on their physical appearance. But do not overlook or underestimate the negative lasting effects of this off-the-cuff habit sometimes.
Making stereotypical comments about people could impede the advancement of society as it encourages biased attitudes, which in turn endanger diversity, equality, and fairness. It gradually eats away at human rights and social justice.
You might think describing people as black, white, rich, poor or fat is just a simple way of identifying someone. But these casual references can be harmful. These labels can stick and inadvertently become an invisible straitjacket, hindering a person’s freedom, development, or even social status.
Labelling, which often coexists with segregation, is nothing new. For example, children are placed into different bands or levels at school according to their abilities, so high-performing students are lumped together for the purposes of target teaching.