you get bad credit for failing to do what you voluntarily promised you'd do. you get good credit merely for following through on your promises.

This is not accurate. My credit score is quite low for a person with zero debt and great financial standing, because I don't have a credit card. I am being punished for not buying a product that I have no need for.

Simply having a credit card doesn't cost anything. You're choosing to live your life in a way that is contrary to what our society has determined is a positive financial profile. If you're trying to make some kind of point, or protest something, fine -- but then don't complain about being "punished."

When was the vote / referendum on this where "society" made this determination?

At most, a few credit ratings company made this decision and "society" tolerates it for convenience. An equally workable system would be to to default to a high score and deduct points for bad behavior, but this would be bad for business as it wouldn't force people to get credit they don't need.

I'm sure there are all kinds of legitimate reasons you can get bad credit, before we even get into all of the mistakes that could be made.

One of my credit cards gives me monthly updates on my credit score. It always lists 3 positive and 3 negative factors impacting my score, no matter how good the score.

Currently one of the 3 negatives is "highest credit card limit too low". Not debt:available. Just straight up "too low a credit limit on your highest-limit card". And yet, I could buy an entry level luxury car on several of my credit cards.

I'm not implying that a silly ding on my credit like that is as 'serious' as delinquent payments, but... well, the truth is, I have no idea. And isn't that the point?