As far as I understand it, Socialism has no objection to some people making more money than others - the question is how those earnings are then taxed or the capital redistributed in order to benefit the whole of society rather than the individual. Communism seeks to take that 'right' away, and make everybody socially, financially and ideologically equal. Taking human nature into account, Communism is unworkable. Socialism is unpopular, in my view, because the pursuit of money/status/property, has become a cornerstone of Western society. I've long since accepted that
Marx was revolutionary in that most of Europe when he was alive was still strongly monarchical (Germany, Marx's home country, has lost its monarchy since then) and society was even more unequal than it is today. He wanted the ordinary working man and woman to be properly recognised and rewarded for the work they did, which kept the aristocracy and monarchy in place by generating wealth for them. The aristocracy and monarchy had no interest in improving the lives or conditions of the working class; the cheaper their labour was, the more profit they stood to gain. I've only cursorily studied Marx, and can certainly claim no expertise, but the basic principle was that a working-class person was more important to society as a whole than a member of the upper-class. It was a popular idea, because the working-class vastly outnumbered the middle- and upper-class, therefore the base of people he was advocating for was overwhelmingly larger.
Just my own thoughts. I don't claim any academic credentials for them.
