Imagine a world where political prisons no longer exist. Abusive regimes no longer need frozen gulags. Reeducation through labor is a distant memory. But tyranny isn’t gone; it’s pervasive, everywhere. Mass surveillance keeps tabs on you, from roadside cameras to online trackers to the phone in your pocket. You hesitate to say what you think, even if it’s true. You weigh your actions against social trends. What you risk by stepping out of line is that the system itself—society as we know it—will lock you out. You can’t work because you can’t get paid. You can’t rent a home because you can’t digitize the payments. You can’t buy food because cash isn’t accepted, and you have no bank account.

You might say you don’t believe in sci-fi dystopias like this. But you’d better start believing, because this reality is already here.

Views expressed in this video are opinions of the host and the guest, and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.