Status Economics' Unfalsifiability Problem

Interpreting most cultural and moral behavior as status signalling risks producing an unfalsifiable explanatory framework: any stated motive can be read as a status play and any counterexample can be reinterpreted as self‑deception. That makes the theory rhetorically powerful but weak as a tool for empirical accountability or policy design. — If status explanations become the default, they can short‑circuit demands for evidence, deflect responsibility, and reshape how institutions respond to social problems.