Often in forums (and in real life) you can stumble upon people, mostly young people who are interested in what the word “mercantile” means. The meaning of this word is simple to explain: it is translated from Italian and French as mercenary, mercantile, calculating, petty. Even 25-30 years ago it was almost impossible to meet mercantile people in our country. Probably the Soviet upbringing and the imposed belief that all people were equal affected. However, it was so. Today, each person has a lot of opportunities to become richer and more successful, and in those days, in order to be rich, they had to be born, that is, to be the heir to some statesman or descendant of a noble person who did not lose his fortune.
A man from the working class was ordered to luxury. But no one complained, everyone worked, honestly earned a living, and few even suspected that interpersonal relations could be built on the basis of personal self-interest. Moreover, any more or less mercantile man was despised, scoffed at him. It’s enough to even recall the hero Savely Kramarov in the old Soviet comedy “Big Change”. Of course, he worked just like everyone else, but for the sake of an extra penny, he was ready even to argue to keep a large, heavy bottle of water, as long as he had enough strength.
Today, the situation has fundamentally changed, and a mercantile person is no longer considered an outcast of society. On the contrary, the propensity for merchandising is actively welcomed, because it is believed that only by being able to trade and trade, you can, if you do not get rich, then, in any case, do not live in poverty. Today, everyone is looking for a benefit in everything: the state assigns a ridiculous minimum wage with crazy taxes that go unclear what; private employers seek by any means to profit at the expense of employees; banks give loans at unrealistic interest …
And what can we say about interpersonal relations, when a mercantile girl seeks to marry the "major" or, even worse, the rich old man, just not to work and live happily ever after! From childhood, she was “hammered” into the head that a husband must earn a lot, and a wife should spend a lot. And such a concept as “feelings” is all from the realm of fiction and fairy tales about Cinderella. The same can be said of friendship.
It’s rare who today will be friends "for no reason." Any mercantile person will not even look towards the one whose wealth is lower than his own. And if you ask such a “friend” for a loan, he will either not give it or give it, but at such a percentage that it will be cheaper to apply for a loan from a bank. And such people are friends only as long as friends are doing well. In case of trouble, the help, even moral, the mercantile person will not render. He is not profitable.
These people are prudent, mercenary, stingy, greedy. True, most of them prefer to call themselves economical. The paradox is also that the richer the person, the more greedy he is. Sometimes it comes to the point of absurdity, when he is even sorry for himself to spend an extra penny, not to mention someone. He is literally “wrapped up” at a profit, like Uncle Scrooge from the famous cartoon. So money is money, but do not forget that, in addition to them, there is simply life that tends to pass by or break off at the most inopportune moment. And in old age, it suddenly seems that, in addition to bank accounts, there is nothing more to remember.
