From each according to his ability, to each according to his need
Encyclopedia
From each according to his ability, to each according to his need (or needs) is a slogan
popularised by Karl Marx
in his 1875 Critique of the Gotha Program
. In German, "Jeder nach seinen Fähigkeiten, jedem nach seinen Bedürfnissen!". The phrase summarizes the principles that, in a communist society
, every person should contribute to society to the best of his or her ability and consume from society in proportion to his or her needs. In the Marxist view, such an arrangement will be made possible by the abundance of goods and services that a developed communist society will produce; the idea is that there will be enough to satisfy everyone's needs.
Although Marx is popularly thought of as the originator of the phrase, the slogan was common to the socialist movement and was first used by Louis Blanc
in 1840, in "The organization of work", as a revision of a quote by the utopian socialist
Henri de Saint Simon, who claimed that each should be rewarded according to how much he works. The origin of this phrasing has also been attributed to the French communist Morelly
, who proposed in his 1755 Code of Nature "Sacred and Fundamental Laws that would tear out the roots of vice and of all the evils of a society" including
Claiming themselves to be at a "lower stage of communism (i.e., "socialism", in line with Marx's terminology), the Soviet Union adapted the formula as: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his work
(labour investment)".
Slogan
A slogan is a memorable motto or phrase used in a political, commercial, religious and other context as a repetitive expression of an idea or purpose. The word slogan is derived from slogorn which was an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic sluagh-ghairm . Slogans vary from the written and the...
popularised by Karl Marx
Karl Marx
Karl Heinrich Marx was a German philosopher, economist, sociologist, historian, journalist, and revolutionary socialist. His ideas played a significant role in the development of social science and the socialist political movement...
in his 1875 Critique of the Gotha Program
Critique of the Gotha Program
The Critique of the Gotha Program is a document based on a letter by Karl Marx written in early May 1875 to the Eisenach faction of the German social democratic movement, with whom Marx and Friedrich Engels were in close association...
. In German, "Jeder nach seinen Fähigkeiten, jedem nach seinen Bedürfnissen!". The phrase summarizes the principles that, in a communist society
Communist society
The communist society or communist utopia is the society postulated by the ideology of communism: a society which is classless and stateless, based upon common ownership of the means of production with free access to articles of consumption, the end of economic exploitation.The term "communist...
, every person should contribute to society to the best of his or her ability and consume from society in proportion to his or her needs. In the Marxist view, such an arrangement will be made possible by the abundance of goods and services that a developed communist society will produce; the idea is that there will be enough to satisfy everyone's needs.
Origin of the phrase
The complete paragraph containing Marx's statement of the creed in the 'Critique of the Gotha Program' is as follows:- In a higher phase of communist society, after the enslaving subordination of the individual to the division of labor, and therewith also the antithesis between mental and physical labor, has vanished; after labor has become not only a means of life but life's prime want; after the productive forces have also increased with the all-around development of the individual, and all the springs of co-operative wealth flow more abundantly—only then can the narrow horizon of bourgeois right be crossed in its entirety and society inscribe on its banners: From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs!
Although Marx is popularly thought of as the originator of the phrase, the slogan was common to the socialist movement and was first used by Louis Blanc
Louis Blanc
Louis Jean Joseph Charles Blanc was a French politician and historian. A socialist who favored reforms, he called for the creation of cooperatives in order to guarantee employment for the urban poor....
in 1840, in "The organization of work", as a revision of a quote by the utopian socialist
Utopian socialism
Utopian socialism is a term used to define the first currents of modern socialist thought as exemplified by the work of Saint-Simon, Charles Fourier, and Robert Owen which inspired Karl Marx and other early socialists and were looked on favorably...
Henri de Saint Simon, who claimed that each should be rewarded according to how much he works. The origin of this phrasing has also been attributed to the French communist Morelly
Morelly
Morelly was the author of The Code of Nature, published in France in 1755. This book severely criticized the society of his day and proposed a constitution intended to lead to a good society...
, who proposed in his 1755 Code of Nature "Sacred and Fundamental Laws that would tear out the roots of vice and of all the evils of a society" including
Debates on the idea
Marx delineated the specific conditions under which such a creed would be applicable—a society where technology and social organization had substantially eliminated the need for physical labor in the production of things, where "labor has become not only a means of life but life's prime want". Marx explained his belief that, in such a society, each person would be motivated to work for the good of society despite the absence of a social mechanism compelling them to work, because work would have become a pleasurable and creative activity. Marx intended the initial part of his slogan, "from each according to his ability" to suggest not merely that each person should work as hard as they can, but that each person should best develop their particular talents.Claiming themselves to be at a "lower stage of communism (i.e., "socialism", in line with Marx's terminology), the Soviet Union adapted the formula as: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his work
To each according to his contribution
To each according to his contribution is considered by socialists and Marxist socialists as a characteristic of society directly following the transition to socialism, but preceding the final step to communism...
(labour investment)".
See also
- CommunismCommunismCommunism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
- He who does not work, neither shall he eatHe who does not work, neither shall he eatHe who does not work, neither shall he eat is a Biblical aphorism derived from II Thessalonians 3:10, which became a slogan for new colonies and socialist societies.-New Testament:...
- Jedem das SeineJedem das Seine"'" is a German translation of "'", the Latin phrase meaning "to each his own" or "to each what he deserves."- Antiquity :The Latin phrase goes back to an old Greek principle of justice which translates literally into English as "to each his own"...
- SocialismSocialismSocialism is an economic system characterized by social ownership of the means of production and cooperative management of the economy; or a political philosophy advocating such a system. "Social ownership" may refer to any one of, or a combination of, the following: cooperative enterprises,...
- To each according to his contributionTo each according to his contributionTo each according to his contribution is considered by socialists and Marxist socialists as a characteristic of society directly following the transition to socialism, but preceding the final step to communism...
- Workers of the world, unite!Workers of the world, unite!The political slogan Workers of the world, unite! is one of the most famous rallying cries of communism, found in The Communist Manifesto , by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels...
External links
- Critique of the Gotha Program (includes Marx's original use of the slogan)
- Marxism and Ethics
- What Does the Bible Say About Communism & Socialism?
- Encountering Communism: the theories of Karl Marx