We've all heard that famous quote. As for its origin, here's what Wikipedia says: "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 1851."
In any event, it does seem to represent the theory of socialism. And in a Utopian sense it embodies fairness.
But it runs head first into the present day theory of socialism that holds that everyone should earn the same amount. For the strongest example of this listen to the arguments set forth whenever the issue of women's wages comes up. When all American women are lumped together and their wages are compared with all American men, the women come out losers. Career choices and hours worked caused that difference. But that doesn't matter. Everyone should be making the same amount, according to the theory.
Minimum wage laws seek to accomplish the same thing.
But what about that famous quote about redistribution according to ability and need? The flaw is that in order to take from the ones with ability, those people need to be making more money than those without the ability. If everyone is making the same, then there is nothing to distribute to the ones with needs and no ability.
Whether we call it redistribution, socialism, marxism, communism, or making the rich pay their fair share, it won't work because it destroys the incentive of those with ability to use that ability. Everyone earns the same, and there's no reason to work any harder than the weakest member of the work force.
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