[Part two of a series; part one here.]
How can we study the relationships between values? One approach might be to study individuals, through their expressions of thought, and then move on to the relationships between individuals, in other words their social networks. In this context, a drawback of this method is that it treats mentality as insular and individual, subordinating value connections to personal ones. An alternative may be to treat means of social reproduction as nodes that link individuals and values. For instance, a text may link the values of love and charity, and also link people who are influenced by it (even if they have no personal connection).
Language is a fundamental means of social reproduction, whether it comes as text or speech; other forms include art, architecture, institutions, and social structures themselves: anything that has the capability of influencing thought. How do these different elements relate to one another in specific contexts? Clearly, some texts will disagree. Likewise, some institutional structures, or buildings, convey different values than others. Rather than study individuals directly, will it be possible to study means of social reproduction themselves, to identify their intellectual content, and to map the interactions between them over time? Then we may be able to construct the framework of a Federalist persuasion, not just a network of Federalists.
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