What is MERCANTILITY - meaning, definition in simple words.
In simple words, Mercantility is a person’s desire to extract personal benefit from all situations, both material and intangible. In other words, we can say that commercialism is a life of convenience, a life for personal gain, a life filled with hypocrisy, selfishness and hypocrisy. So, for example, the most obvious representative of commercialism are marriages or relationships of convenience, where one of the partners imitates the presence of feelings in exchange for material benefits. Agree, such situations are far from uncommon and can even be considered very banal.
Nevertheless, it should be noted that despite such an unfavorable description of this character trait, almost all people have a certain degree of commercialism. The whole point lies in the fine line between pathological commercialism and healthy pragmatism. It goes without saying that in the realities of the modern world, all people have to survive in conditions of fierce competition, and financial well-being is an integral part of a good life. And yet, not everything in this world can be bought with money. For example, true friendship, love, devotion and other important aspects for any social being simply cannot be bought. Imitation, yes, but not sincerity.
From this we can conclude that he takes pretty good care of his well-being, but you cannot go too far and build your entire life solely on financial gain. As a rule, the path of mercantile people is the path of loneliness, since in the pursuit of profit, truly important needs are lost.
Note: As a rule, such a character trait as commercialism is more characteristic of women than men. Most likely, such a disproportion is caused precisely by the modern paradigm of perception of women, and by the very position of women in history. Although, there is no unanimous opinion on this matter, but the fact remains: women are more mercantile than men. There's no sexism here, just an observation. In addition, modern men are constantly closing the distance.
Reasons for commercialism.
It is quite difficult to say what exactly stimulates the development of this character trait. But there are several very plausible theories on this matter.
Upbringing.
It is no secret that most of the qualities and moral vectors of human development are passed on from parents to children. If parents raised their child, instilling in him a love only for those benefits that are directly related to finances, then the result, alas, is predictable. The child will most likely grow up to be a mercantile person. The situation with the upbringing of girls is even more interesting. Many parents, caring about the well-being of their daughters, impose on them the idea that the future chosen one should be an exclusively financially wealthy person. So to speak, a prince on a white horse (German-made and with a six-liter engine). Well, feelings are secondary. Naturally, there is a certain logic in such care on the part of parents, but practice shows that this is far from the best way to raise a good person. And first of all, this affects the children themselves.
Society.
Another very important factor in the development of commercialism is the society itself, imbued with aspirations for financial success. If you look closely at the modern information field, you will notice that almost all promoted values are tied exclusively to material wealth. And by and large, this is very natural. The desire for luxury and prosperity is inherent in our human nature, but not everyone is able to set the right priorities. Alas, for many, financial aspects in the ranking of personal priorities occupy a more dominant position than the same sincere relationships.
Selfish man
In our world, for some individuals, the main goal in life is to make money by any means. Therefore, the concept of “self-interest” can be defined as the concentration of a person’s attention on obtaining profit through dishonest acts. Among the common synonyms of this term are benefit, interest, commercialism, love of money.
Someone who tries to find benefit in everything, constantly strives for profit, and seeks ways to enrich himself is called a selfish person. The people around him, the objects, and the events taking place will be adapted in such a way that they will begin to bring at least some benefit.
For him, personal self-interest is above all, and other values and relationships that do not provide direct benefits are uninteresting. Basically, selfish actions are justified by noble deeds and positive motives, but the good of the people around them is not taken into account.
The main weapons in achieving selfish goals are outright flattery, praise, compliments, deception, and refusal to perform certain actions that do not entail benefits. Among the reasons that awaken greed in a person are selfishness, psychological trauma, anger, disappointment, orientation toward material values, education, intellectual development, and the desire to occupy a certain position in society.
Trying to get more and more, a selfish person herself becomes a victim of her own desires. Basically, she does not feel pleasure from her actions, she does not like contact with the individual from whom she wants to benefit. A selfish person has mood swings, enters into tactile contact without desire or refuses it.
How does commercialism differ from greed?
Sometimes people equate greed and commercialism. This is not exactly the same thing, although stinginess is inherent in mercantile people. Just a greedy person is busy accumulating wealth; he is like a dragon in a treasury, trembling over every penny. The greedy person will not spend too much on himself; he is ready to wear cast-offs and eat poor quality food just to save money.
A mercantile person, on the contrary, does not spare anything for himself, his loved one. He is ready to spend large sums, but with one condition - all investments must pay off. This is the difference between greed and commercialism.
Carolina Korableva
About the author: Hello! I am Karolina Korableva. I live in the Moscow region, in the city of Odintsovo. I love life and people. I try to be realistic and optimistic in life. What I value in people is their ability to behave. I am interested in psychology, in particular conflictology. Graduated from RGSU, Faculty of Occupational Psychology and Special Psychology.
How to treat mercantile people?
In relationships between people, mercantile relationships often arise. If people are business partners, then there is nothing wrong with that. Commercialism and prudence in business have the right to exist.
In relationships with close people, mercantile interests are not allowed. Human relationships cannot be measured with money.
A person who is mercantile to the core is unlikely to be able to experience true feelings of love and inspiration from selflessly helping his friend. He is not characterized by compassion. Such people often remain lonely because they believe that women only love him for his money.
At the level of instincts
What separates a person from an animal is intellect (intellectual abilities) and the ability to be guided by feelings, and not by primitive instincts. Despite this, most psychologists and experts are confident that our strongest needs are at the animal level. For example, the fear of being killed in a car accident, the fear of losing loved ones, the fear of being alone.
That is, love is a kind of mixture of passion and affection.
The desire to satisfy one's needs with the help of another person. But this cannot be called self-interest. The term mutual aid fits here. Therefore, women can fall in love with different men, but be unhappy. Because there is no one nearby (a reliable and stable man). Someone may call such girls selfish, but he is wrong. Because a strong man who can give his chosen one more benefits than just love deserves respect. This is a man with a capital M.
Women, men and commercialism
It is believed that women are more materialistic than men . Let’s not listen to the accusatory speeches of representatives of the stronger sex and look at this topic, discarding moralizing glasses: everything is quite understandable.
To fulfill her gender responsibilities (in other words, having children), a woman requires certain conditions and a reliable partner. This is inherent in it by nature as a protective mechanism necessary for the reproduction of healthy offspring.
In the wild, no self-respecting bird will acquire chicks in the absence of a nest and a conscientious male who will provide it with an uninterrupted supply of bugs and worms for the period of incubation of eggs.
The notorious commercialism of the fair sex is a genetically designed program for the survival of a woman and her offspring (we are not talking about hunters for big money - that’s another story).
Genetics is supported by history: for a long time a woman did not have the opportunity to provide for herself.
Her well-being directly depended on a well-chosen partner, be it a brave hunter who regularly supplied mammoths to the family hearth, or a hereditary nobleman. The age-old memory sits firmly in the female subconscious - this is serious and for a long time.
Commercialism today is not a purely feminine quality; men are also guilty of it , and this is not always associated with professional activity. The girl is beautiful in all respects, but it is better to clarify her place of work, availability of living space, financial capabilities and useful connections of her parents... a situation that has become commonplace.
Signs of commercialism.
Oddly enough, mercantile people are quite difficult to recognize at first glance. The thing is that most of their plans for obtaining benefits are tied precisely to imitation of sincerity. Although there are exceptions who openly declare that they are not interested in anything other than profit. But this is rare. And yet, you can recognize a mercantile person by the following signs:
- Mercantile people always show interest in the income and expenses of other people;
- All the interests and dreams of mercantile people are tied to finances and personal well-being;
- Mercantile people always prefer only wealthy and status people as life partners or friends;
- Material goods, as a rule, always have a higher priority than good relationships with others;
- Altruism is an alien concept for mercantile people (they don’t do anything for nothing);
