The term "commercialism" has Latin roots. In ancient Rome, the word "mercante" was used to refer to merchants and traders. In modern Italian, this word has retained the same meaning. The French, on the other hand, gave the word mercantile a slightly different meaning - "selfish", "mercantile".
Mercantile is a character, or a consequence of life circumstances
In our time, a mercantile person is called the one who puts considerations of profit in the first place, for whom money is most important. In a broader sense, a mercantile person is an unprincipled, greedy miser.
Why does a person become mercantile, which can affect his character? It is difficult to give a definite answer to this question. A person can become mercantile, at the same time reaching painful stinginess, for many reasons. Classic examples are the heroes of Gogol's Dead Souls - Plyushkin and Chichikov. Apparently in the character of Plyushkin, there was initially a tendency to prudence, economy, since the author emphasized that his hero used to be a thrifty owner, and went to the dinner table in an old frock coat. However, Plyushkin was not greedy, did not reach the point of absurdity in his frugality. The changes that turned him into a half-crazy money-grubber came after a number of personal tragedies: the death of his wife and youngest daughter, the flight of the eldest daughter, who married an officer against the will of his father, quarrels with his son.
From the point of view of medicine, such commercialism is a mental illness called "pathological hoarding." Similar "Plyushkin" are found in our time.
As for Chichikov, he became a mercantile person, first of all, under the influence of his father, who taught him not to trust friends, but to believe a penny, appreciate and save a penny. That is, this character trait was formed in him from childhood. And the conditions of the surrounding Russian reality only contributed to its development.
Is commercialism always bad
You should not condemn mercantile people indiscriminately, because mercantileness can be different! For example, if we are talking about a prudent, thrifty attitude to money, the ability to save wisely, plan costs, refuse unnecessary spending, there is nothing wrong with that. On the contrary, it is good for the budget and worthy of emulation.
Such commercialism helps to manage the family budget wisely, to save money for large purchases.
If commercialism takes the form of excessive stinginess, makes a person greedy and heartless, capable of a dishonest act for the sake of money, such a person definitely deserves condemnation. Here he can with good reason be called an unprincipled greedy miser who goes "over the heads".
