Approval economy

An approval economy is one where the thing being sought and exchanged is social approval itself. Rather than organizing around material need or the free flow of energy, it organizes around winning acceptance, so behaviour, work and even goods are oriented toward what earns approval from the group. It pairs directly with Marsh's approval theory of value, in which the worth of goods tracks the amount of social approval they represent. Together they describe a system in which value has detached from life and connection and reattached to standing: what raises you in the group's regard is what counts as valuable, and the economy runs on the pursuit of that regard. Marsh treats this as a distortion, an economy measuring the wrong thing, since approval within an endogroup can be won by conformity and display rather than by anything that actually nourishes people.

The phrase overlaps with everyday ideas about status economies, reputation and social capital, and with critiques of consumer culture where goods signal standing rather than serve use. Marsh ties it specifically to her approval theory of value and her account of the endogroup, so the approval being chased is approval within a group organized around an idealised centre.