In every society since the Bronze age, be it mesoamerican, European, African, west Asian or East Asian there has been an understanding the Merchant Class while useful, cannot be allowed too close to the levers of power. Because while money is a source of power, it is not a source of honor or civic virtue. And someone well suited to acquiring money may very well not be well suited to ruling the lives of men.
Part of the disaster of the Industrial Revolution I think is that it led to the triumph of the Merchant Class over both the Peasents and the Aristocracy. A story played out across the world. Someone who views their nation in purely transactional terms, a Merchant, will assume that the nation like any asset can be sold. This is the flaw at the heart of modern capitalism.
It is up to the people wrapped in this bargain to contest the sale. The powers that be think a nation can be sold with money. I believe with every fiber of my being the only currency that can pay for a nation is blood.