Friedrich Engels was a factory owner.
Posted by The Pete Quiñones Show, Checked
- Sources
- 3 support2 context
- Said
- 1 time·
- Confidence
- 70%
The Pete Quiñones ShowOct 1, 2026
Sources show Engels worked in and was a partner in the family cotton business, Ermen & Engels, in Manchester, so calling him a factory owner holds on a standard reading.
What was said
… And Marx and Engels realized that this abstraction, the proletariat you know, none of them had any real connection to that. We talked about with the Jews in Russia. None of these guys had any connection with a working man. None of them. Engels was a factory owner, of all things, who took advantage, who had mistresses who worked in his factories. But it's precisely because they were in such a vulnerable state, the party can kind of project whatever they want onto them. That kind of alienation made them perfect for this. …
The Pete Quiñones Show · · from the transcriptPost →What we found
Supports. Britannica states Engels became a partner in the Manchester cotton firm and later sold his interest in 1869, which makes him a co-owner of the mill.[2]
Supports. A review of Tristram Hunt's biography describes Engels as having been an 'involuntary factory owner' through his work at Ermen & Engels in Manchester.[3]
Supports. Fee's biography in PMC says Engels returned to the family business in Manchester and supported Marx with money earned in the textile industry.[1]
Context. Multiple sources say his father owned the textile factories, and Engels was sent to manage the Manchester mill, so his ownership was as a partner in a family-owned firm rather than sole ownership.[2][4][5]
Sources
5 sources: 1 primary, 4 not rated
- 1Friedrich Engels: Businessman and Revolutionary - PMC - NIHpmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov · primary source · cited for: supports
- 2Friedrich Engels | German Philosopher, Marxist Theorist & Social ...britannica.com · not rated · cited for: supports, context
- 3The Revolutionary Life of Friedrich Engels by Tristram Huntthetimes.com · not rated · cited for: supports
- 4Happy Birthday, Friedrich Engelsdeutschlandmuseum.de · not rated · cited for: context
- 5The revolutionary socialist: Friedrich Engels – DW – 11/27/2020dw.com · not rated · cited for: context
Where this claim was made
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