To each according to his contribution
Encyclopedia
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
. This essentially means that people are rewarded based on the amount they contribute to the social product.
This principle formed the basic definition of socialism
by its pre-Marxist proponents, most notably Ricardian socialists
, social anarchists and democratic socialists.
's and Eugen Dühring
's statements to Leon Trotsky
. However it was Vladimir Lenin
, inspired by Marx's writing on the subject in Critique of the Gotha Programme, who claimed the principle to be a fundamental element of socialism within Marxist theory.
Libertarian socialist thinkers, such as American anarchist Benjamin Tucker
, defined socialism as a system whereby the laborer receives the full product of his labor so to eliminate exploitation and "unearned" income accrued to the capitalist.
The term means simply that each worker in a socialist society receives wages and benefits according to the quantity and value of the labor that he or she contributed. This translates into workers of high productivity receiving more wages and benefits than workers of average productivity, and substantially more than workers of low productivity. An extension of this principle could also be made so that the more difficult one's job is—whether this difficulty is derived from greater training requirements, job intensity, safety hazards, etc.—the more one is rewarded for the labor contributed. The purpose of the principle, as Trotsky would later state, is to promote productivity. This is done by creating incentives to work harder, longer, and more productively. The principle is ultimately a stowaway from capitalism that, according to Marx, will vanish as work becomes more automated and enjoyable, and goods become available in abundance.
manages its affairs. That is, each is rewarded according to how much he produces. Remuneration increases as the amount of labor contributed increases. However within capitalism, the means of production
are owned by a small minority who does not produce, but rather lives off the labor of others. Socialism is said to remedy this by putting the means of production in common hands and rewarding individuals according to their contributions.
In the Critique of the Gotha Programme, while criticizing Lassalle's
ideas, Marx elaborates on the theory. According to Marx's analysis of the Programme, Lassalle suggests that "the proceeds of labor belong undiminished with equal right to all members of society." While he agrees that the citizens of a workers' society should be rewarded according to individual contributions, he claims that giving them the "full product" of their labor is impossible as some of the proceeds will be needed to maintain infrastructure and so forth. He then explains the nature of a communist society in its lower phase ( socialist society, that does not emerge from its own foundations "but, on the contrary, just as it emerges from capitalist society; which is thus in every respect, economically, morally, and intellectually, still stamped with the birthmarks of the old society from whose womb it emerges." And so "accordingly, the individual producer receives back from society -- after the deductions have been made -- exactly what he gives to it." He explains this as:
In the paragraph immediately following Marx continues to explain how this system of exchange is related to the capitalist system of exchange:
Marx says that this is rational and necessary, and that once society advances from the lower phase of communist society and work becomes life's prime want, distribution will occur along different lines. During the higher phase of communism, the standard shall be "from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs."
to answer all the burning questions of the movement, and to prevent Marxism from becoming tainted by "opportunists" and "reformists" as he called them. The work is very important as it categorizes the "first phase of communist society" as socialism, with the higher phase being communism proper. The pamphlet also answers all questions and concerns of the Marxists of his time by utilizing the classic works of Marxism
.
When he is set to describe socialism and its economic features he turns to the authority of Marx, especially the Critique of the Gotha Programme. Lenin claims that socialism will not be perfect since, as Marx said, it has emerged out of the womb of capitalism and which is in every respect stamped with the birthmarks of the old society. This society, socialism, will be unable to provide people with total equality, precisely because it is still marked by capitalism. He also explains the difference between the old society and the new as:
Lenin states that such a society is indeed socialism as it realizes the two principles of socialism "he who does not work, neither shall he eat
" and "an equal amount of products for an equal amount of labor."
Joseph Stalin
and Leon Trotsky
both mentioned the term in their works.
Socialism (Marxism)
In Marxist theory, socialism, or the socialist mode of production, refers to a specific historical phase of economic development and its corresponding set of social relations that eventually supersede capitalism...
as a characteristic of society directly following the transition to socialism
Socialism
Socialism 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,...
, but preceding the final step to communism
Communism
Communism 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...
. This essentially means that people are rewarded based on the amount they contribute to the social product.
This principle formed the basic definition of socialism
Socialism
Socialism 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,...
by its pre-Marxist proponents, most notably Ricardian socialists
Ricardian socialism
Ricardian socialism refers to a branch of socialist economic thought based upon the work of economist David Ricardo. The Ricardian socialists reasoned that the free-market was the route to socialism, and that rent, profit and interest were not natural outgrowths of the free-market...
, social anarchists and democratic socialists.
Definition and purpose
To each according to his contribution was a concept espoused by many members of the labor movement. Examples would be found of this in Ferdinand LassalleFerdinand Lassalle
Ferdinand Lassalle was a German-Jewish jurist and socialist political activist.-Early life:Ferdinand Lassalle was born on 11 April 1825 in Breslau , Silesia to a prosperous Jewish family descending from Upper Silesian Loslau...
's and Eugen Dühring
Eugen Dühring
Eugen Karl Dühring was a German philosopher and economist, a socialist who was a strong critic of Marxism.-Life and works:...
's statements to Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
. However it was Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Lenin
Vladimir Ilyich Lenin was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and communist politician who led the October Revolution of 1917. As leader of the Bolsheviks, he headed the Soviet state during its initial years , as it fought to establish control of Russia in the Russian Civil War and worked to create a...
, inspired by Marx's writing on the subject in Critique of the Gotha Programme, who claimed the principle to be a fundamental element of socialism within Marxist theory.
Libertarian socialist thinkers, such as American anarchist Benjamin Tucker
Benjamin Tucker
Benjamin Ricketson Tucker was a proponent of American individualist anarchism in the 19th century, and editor and publisher of the individualist anarchist periodical Liberty.-Summary:Tucker says that he became an anarchist at the age of 18...
, defined socialism as a system whereby the laborer receives the full product of his labor so to eliminate exploitation and "unearned" income accrued to the capitalist.
The term means simply that each worker in a socialist society receives wages and benefits according to the quantity and value of the labor that he or she contributed. This translates into workers of high productivity receiving more wages and benefits than workers of average productivity, and substantially more than workers of low productivity. An extension of this principle could also be made so that the more difficult one's job is—whether this difficulty is derived from greater training requirements, job intensity, safety hazards, etc.—the more one is rewarded for the labor contributed. The purpose of the principle, as Trotsky would later state, is to promote productivity. This is done by creating incentives to work harder, longer, and more productively. The principle is ultimately a stowaway from capitalism that, according to Marx, will vanish as work becomes more automated and enjoyable, and goods become available in abundance.
Elaboration in Gotha
The principle has its roots in the way that capitalismCapitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
manages its affairs. That is, each is rewarded according to how much he produces. Remuneration increases as the amount of labor contributed increases. However within capitalism, the means of production
Means of production
Means of production refers to physical, non-human inputs used in production—the factories, machines, and tools used to produce wealth — along with both infrastructural capital and natural capital. This includes the classical factors of production minus financial capital and minus human capital...
are owned by a small minority who does not produce, but rather lives off the labor of others. Socialism is said to remedy this by putting the means of production in common hands and rewarding individuals according to their contributions.
In the Critique of the Gotha Programme, while criticizing Lassalle's
Ferdinand Lassalle
Ferdinand Lassalle was a German-Jewish jurist and socialist political activist.-Early life:Ferdinand Lassalle was born on 11 April 1825 in Breslau , Silesia to a prosperous Jewish family descending from Upper Silesian Loslau...
ideas, Marx elaborates on the theory. According to Marx's analysis of the Programme, Lassalle suggests that "the proceeds of labor belong undiminished with equal right to all members of society." While he agrees that the citizens of a workers' society should be rewarded according to individual contributions, he claims that giving them the "full product" of their labor is impossible as some of the proceeds will be needed to maintain infrastructure and so forth. He then explains the nature of a communist society in its lower phase ( socialist society, that does not emerge from its own foundations "but, on the contrary, just as it emerges from capitalist society; which is thus in every respect, economically, morally, and intellectually, still stamped with the birthmarks of the old society from whose womb it emerges." And so "accordingly, the individual producer receives back from society -- after the deductions have been made -- exactly what he gives to it." He explains this as:
In the paragraph immediately following Marx continues to explain how this system of exchange is related to the capitalist system of exchange:
Marx says that this is rational and necessary, and that once society advances from the lower phase of communist society and work becomes life's prime want, distribution will occur along different lines. During the higher phase of communism, the standard shall be "from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs."
Use by later Marxists
Lenin wrote the State and RevolutionState and Revolution
The State and Revolution , by Vladimir Lenin, describes the role of the State in society, the necessity of proletarian revolution, and the theoretic inadequacies of social democracy in achieving revolution to establish the dictatorship of the proletariat.Citing Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx, Lenin...
to answer all the burning questions of the movement, and to prevent Marxism from becoming tainted by "opportunists" and "reformists" as he called them. The work is very important as it categorizes the "first phase of communist society" as socialism, with the higher phase being communism proper. The pamphlet also answers all questions and concerns of the Marxists of his time by utilizing the classic works of Marxism
Classical Marxism
Classical Marxism refers to the social theory expounded by Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, as contrasted with later developments in Marxism.-Karl Marx:...
.
When he is set to describe socialism and its economic features he turns to the authority of Marx, especially the Critique of the Gotha Programme. Lenin claims that socialism will not be perfect since, as Marx said, it has emerged out of the womb of capitalism and which is in every respect stamped with the birthmarks of the old society. This society, socialism, will be unable to provide people with total equality, precisely because it is still marked by capitalism. He also explains the difference between the old society and the new as:
Lenin states that such a society is indeed socialism as it realizes the two principles of socialism "he who does not work, neither shall he eat
He who does not work, neither shall he eat
He 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:...
" and "an equal amount of products for an equal amount of labor."
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 to 5 March 1953. He was among the Bolshevik revolutionaries who brought about the October Revolution and had held the position of first General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union's Central Committee...
and Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky
Leon Trotsky , born Lev Davidovich Bronshtein, was a Russian Marxist revolutionary and theorist, Soviet politician, and the founder and first leader of the Red Army....
both mentioned the term in their works.
- Stalin's most famous use of the concept is in his Constitution1936 Soviet ConstitutionThe 1936 Soviet constitution, adopted on December 5, 1936, and also known as the "Stalin" constitution, redesigned the government of the Soviet Union.- Basic provisions :...
. He writes that "The principle applied in the U.S.S.R. is that of socialism: From each according to his ability, to each according to his work." It is especially noteworthy that he says the principle of socialism and not full communism. - Trotsky's mention is in his famous The Revolution BetrayedThe Revolution BetrayedThe Revolution Betrayed: What Is the Soviet Union and Where Is It Going? is a book by the Russian Bolshevik leader Leon Trotsky, published in 1937, analyzing and criticizing Stalinism and the post-Lenin development in the Soviet Union....
. He says that "Capitalism prepared the conditions and forces for a social revolution: technique, science and the proletariat. The communist structure cannot, however, immediately replace the bourgeois society. The material and cultural inheritance from the past is wholly inadequate for that." He goes on to defend his position by saying that "in its first steps the workers’ state cannot yet permit everyone to work "according to his abilities" – that is, as much as he can and wishes to – nor can it reward everyone "according to his needs", regardless of the work he does." And he presents the principle as the method that socialism will use by saying: "In order to increase the productive forces, it is necessary to resort to the customary norms of wage payment – that is, to the distribution of life's goods in proportion to the quantity and quality of individual labor."
See also
|
Knowledge worker Knowledge workers in today's workforce are individuals who are valued for their ability to act and communicate with knowledge within a specific subject area. They will often advance the overall understanding of that subject through focused analysis, design and/or development. They use research... Labour voucher Labour vouchers are a device proposed to govern demand for goods in some models of socialism, much as money does under capitalism.-Outline:... Leninism In Marxist philosophy, Leninism is the body of political theory for the democratic organisation of a revolutionary vanguard party, and the achievement of a direct-democracy dictatorship of the proletariat, as political prelude to the establishment of socialism... Socialism Socialism 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,... |
External links
- Capital: Volume I Marx's socioeconomic analysis of capitalism.
- The Critique of the Gotha Programme The pamphlet from which Lenin draws much of his arguments for the State and Revolution.
- The State and Revolution the complete text of Lenin's main philosophical work.
- The Revolution Betrayed the complete text of Trotsky's most famous and important work.