Father Of Communism: Andrew Carnegie Vs. Karl Marx

Andrew Carnegie v. Karl Marx Andrew Carnegie was the epitome of the “self-made man.” Karl Marx has been dubbed “the father of communism.” Carnegie was a capitalist at heart, while Marx strongly believed in socialist and communist ideals. These men are clashing opposites, yet both men share several points in common. But when it comes to Carnegie’s and Marx’s stances on distribution of wealth and role of government in the economy, their views are on both ends of the spectrum. I believe Carnegie’s and Marx’s economic and social circles influenced their theories. Carnegie was born in Scotland during 1835 and immigrated to the U.S. with his family, at a young age. When he started working in the U.S. he was at the bottom: a cotton mill worker. Several years later he started working for a telegraph company, which paid better than the mill. Two years
Unlike Carnegie, Marx received education early in his life and studied at a university, until earning a degree in philosophy. Marx applied for a job at the university, but was not accepted. After this rejection, Marx became a journalist. He spent time travelling throughout Europe. After a while, Marx immigrated to a new country with his family, like Carnegie. But instead of the U.S., Marx immigrated to England. Carnegie was a wealthy business man, while Marx was a poverty stricken scholar. According to Jacobus,” his friend Friedrich Engels contributed money to prevent Marx and his family from starving” (219). Carnegie and his work were well known throughout his life, but on the other hand Marx’s work and ideas were not well known, until after his death in 1883. Marx’s most popular work is “The Communist Manifesto”. “The Communist Manifesto” is a three part book, which expresses Marx’s socialist theory on the social structure, economy, and government. While Carnegie’s Gospel of Wealth had few followers, Marx’s “Communist Manifesto” fueled the Russian Revolution in 1917