Sociomonetary patterns and specifications

Abstract

Sociomonetary relationships (A) endow money with meaning, significance, and identity, (B) are obfuscated by original monetary values, and (C) can be captured by specified monetary values (i.e., monetary values in specified sociomonetary functions). Moreover, the validity and reliability of monetary data depend upon identification and specification of sociomonetary functions. Consequently, it is necessary to examine which forms of sociomonetary functions best conform to criteria of specification. For example, are these criteria optimized by simple and parsimonious monomial power functions (which provide a basis for the formulation of a power law of sociomonetary functions)? Such questions can be answered with the aid of explorations of sociomonetary relationships. My exploration reveals four prevalent and interrelated (but not universal nor permanent) patterns of sociomonetary relationships in synchronic and diachronic analyses of demographic, survey, and experimental data. These patterns are characterized by r-shaped or L-shaped curves in sociomonetary scatter plots for a response to money, and J-shaped or L-shaped curves in sociomonetary scatter plots for a monetary response. These sociomonetary patterns appear to be linked to (A) similar patterns among nonmonetary phenomena, (B) processes of legitimation, violence, and inequality, and (C) consistency among social phenomena.