From Need to Ability

Utilitarianism is a variation of Hedonism, i. e. Pleasure is its ultimate criterion of 'Goodness'. Now, Capitalism is applied Utilitarianism. Hence, the implied value of its ultimate goal, Wealth, is that it brings Pleasure, which is an End-in-Itself. In contrast, as has been previously proposed, in "each according to his needs", the goal can be characterized as 'Health', of which, following Spinoza, Pleasure is an inadequate idea. Still, that contrast preserves the status of Health as, like Hedonist Pleasure, an end-state with no further consequences, i. e. as Inertia. However, on the Vitalist interpretation, Health is a dynamic condition, consisting in the harmonious maximum exercise of all the functions of an organism. But, that condition is precisely the actualization of one's abilities, with respect to which 'ability' qua potential is a mere abstraction. Hence, on the Vitalist interpretation, "From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs" presupposes that Need is a means to Ability, an interpretation to which it is unclear if Marx subscribes.

Ability, Individual, Collective

Rand, in Atlas Shrugged, is not incorrect to characterize 'From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs' as 'collectivist'. However, her associated opposition of 'Collective' to 'Individual' reflects only the lack in her system of an adequate Pluralist principle, i. e. one via which a Collective that consists of, rather than suppresses, Individuals can be generated. The possibility of such a 'Collective' is plainly connoted by each 'each' in the formulation. Furthermore, she is too short-sighted to recognize that "From each according to his abilities" entails the possibility of one's creation of a social role that expresses one's abilities, instead of, as in the case of her works, the subordination of the abilities of even distinctive individuals to established social roles, e. g. an 'engineer'.

Ability, Education, Division of Labor

Ability is developed by the cultivation of natural talents, i. e. is determined by Education. Now, in contemporary America, for example, the primary aim of Education is the channeling of students to a slot in the established division of labor, i. e. 'choosing a career-path'. Hence, under such conditions, Ability is at the service of prevailing self-interests, and, so, is hardly the cardinal factor of an Economy or a Society that is connoted in Marx's formula "from each according to his abilities". In contrast, the aim of the Education theory of Dewey is the facilitation of the self-discovery of the student, which he conceives as coordinated with his vision of a permanent "reconstruction" of society, a condition that is, thus, more hospitable to the creativity of its members, though, to the detriment of the status quo. So, the actualization of Marx's principle requires a concept of Education of which he is generally relatively vague.

Ability-Need and Supply-Demand

In Marx's formulation, "From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs", Ability and Need are conceived as systematic poles, analogous to Supply and Demand in the Capitalist model. Analogously, the challenge is the coordination of the two, though whether via an immanent 'law', as Smith posits, or by artefactual means, depends on whether or not the Marxist attributes the process to a necessary Dialectical movement. One notable precedent of that formulation is easy to overlook because of its class-stratification--the polis of The Republic, which, regardless of those details, attempts to correlate the psychological capacity of each of its members, to the vital needs, i. e. the "necessity", of such an organization.

Ability and Division of Labor

Superficially, Marx's formulation, "From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs", seems to directly correlate ability and receipt. However, the immediate determinant of what one receives is one's "needs", so the expression is more accurately parsed as the conjunction of 'Do what one can' and 'Receive what one needs'. Now, if contemporary American Politics is any indication, a Capitalist might object to the formulation on the grounds that it entails an incapacitated person not working while enjoying extensive medical benefits. A further problem for the Capitalist is that implicit in the first clause is the model of a society determined by, and constituted by, the abilities of its members, in contrast with one in which a role is pre-established by the prevailing division of labor, a structure that reflects the self-interests of those who do not labor.

Democracy and Inheritance

The standard academic segregation of 'Political Science' from 'Philosophy' makes it difficult to appreciate the systematic thinking of Locke. Thus, not widely recognized is that corresponding to his better-known Epistemological 'tabula rasa' is a Political one as well. The innate idea that is the specific target of the latter is the 'divine right of kings', which, even in its more secularized manifestation as inherited power, e. g. the British House of Lords, remains antithetical to Democracy. Thus, both Marx's insight that land is part of the means of production, and, therefore, subject to collectivization, and, to a lesser degree, Smith's advocacy of an inheritance tax, are consistent with the Democratic ideal. Similarly, the contemporary resistance to estate taxation in American politics is not.

Justice and Inheritance

Contemporary Capitalists tend to be critical of the Marxist principle of Retributive Justice, "To each according to his needs", often vociferously on the grounds that it promotes laziness. Now, such Moralizing might overlook the other clause in Marx's formulation, "From each according to his abilities". Regardless, it is hypocritical insofar as it is not also directed at lottery and gambling winnings, at returns from investments, and, especially, at inheritance receipts. Indeed, the latter seem to violate the free enterprise thesis that income results from the Invisible Hand functioning as an agent of Retributive Justice, rewarding hard work.