What do merchants want to do? Buy and sell things to make a profit. The adjective mercantile describes these kinds of efforts and goals.
Many people have mercantile dreams of opening a store where they can sell things they love and interact with people in their community. Sometimes, however, the word mercantile has negative connotations. Exploiting factory workers, polluting the environment, wasting natural resources? All these reflect the dark side of the mercantile pursuit of profit.
