I will dwell on this principle in more detail, since this is one of the central points of the Marxist doctrine of communism. We must distinguish historical conditions in which the idea "on demand" and its primary historical meaning, the philistine interpretation of this idea and its interpretation in the state ideology of the communist countries (I mean the Soviet ideology in the first place). Historically, a communist society was conceived as a society in which people would be equal in all aspects of their lives. They did not even want to think about the fact that this society would give rise to its own forms of social and economic inequality, and on a very large scale. All evil was associated with private property. And since the latter was conceived as subject to destruction, then all the evil of people's lives was supposed to disappear in the most primitive sense - as the need for food, clothing, housing. The hope was that they would be satisfied, and this was expressed in principle "on demand". Abundance is a relative, historically defined concept. And to the extent that it was conceived in past centuries, it has been achieved in Soviet society. There are literally no starving people here, no beggars and homeless people. And in this sense, the principle of communism is realized. But on the basis of meeting the necessary needs of people, a different, current philistine understanding of abundance and the principle of “as needed” arose, namely, as the satisfaction of any desires of modern people. And these desires have grown so much that even the official ideology Soviet Union pushed the implementation of this principle into an indefinite future. Soviet people already imagine the abundance of communism at least in the form of a high standard of living for some Western countries available to everyone. The founders of the teachings of Marxist communism hardly suspected refrigerators and televisions as essentials, they hardly thought that the car would become an ordinary means of transport. But today's layman can no longer imagine communism without a multi-room apartment with all conveniences, without a TV and a refrigerator, without a personal car and without a dacha. The official ideology of the Soviet Union felt the danger that lies in such an interpretation of a very careless statement of the classics of Marxism, and gave its own interpretation of it. She began to talk about reasonable needs, controlled and regulated by society. And this is only a disguised form of expressing the actual state of affairs, namely, the fact that the needs of a person in a communist society are determined by the possibilities of satisfying them, i.e. his actual social position. The slogan "to each according to his needs" in practical implementation turns into the principle "to each according to his social position". Exactly social status of people in society becomes here a practical principle of distribution. Being "fair" in the idea and in the very foundations of society, this principle in the conditions of a developed social hierarchy of people and collectives gives rise to the socio-economic inequality of people, which is not inferior to the inequality of other societies, and in some respects even surpasses them. The official Soviet ideology is not far from the truth in its interpretation of the need. The fact is that there are two concepts of need - subjective (or psychological) and objective (or sociological). In the second case, not every desire of a person is a need, but only one that social environment recognizes that person as a need. And this means that some generally significant level of satisfaction of human needs on given level his social hierarchy - i.e. some consumption rate. To have according to need means to have within the framework of this norm, and to have not according to need means to exceed or not reach the norm. The expression "does not have according to need" refers only to the case when a person is not given what he is supposed to, and the expression "has not according to need" - to the case when a person has more than he should. In addition, it is necessary to distinguish between a need as something that society is obliged to provide to a given individual, and a need as something that is considered natural according to some reasonable ideas of this society. For example, from the point of view of practically existing norms of the Soviet Union, three square meters living space per person in the lower strata is considered sufficient to satisfy the need in the first sense, while in society the need (in the second sense) is already ripening to have a separate room for each adult member of the family. If we take the whole set of elements life situation, then it is possible to describe for each segment of the population these two boundaries of "reasonable" needs, in which the actual situation of people fluctuates. And it must be admitted that society, one way or another, strives to keep the standard of living of the population within these boundaries.

More on the topic EVERYONE - ACCORDING TO THE NEEDS:

1. 4.1. NEEDS AND PRODUCTION, THEIR INTERRELATION. CLASSIFICATION OF NEEDS AND THEIR STRUCTURE. LAWS OF CONSUMPTION

Modern young people have already managed to forget the phrase “To each according to his need, from each according to his ability”, which at one time set the teeth on the teeth of the citizens of the USSR. For this reason, few people know for sure who the author of this statement is. Let's find out where this expression came from, what it means and why such a beautiful theory failed in practice.

"From each according to his ability - to each according to his needs": the author of the phrase, according to the majority opinion

By misunderstanding, quite often this expression, which has become the slogan of socialism, is attributed to the author of Capital, Karl Marx.

It was he who, in 1875, in his last major work, Critique of the Gotha Programme, reflecting on the organization of the future communist society, used the expression: "To each according to his ability, to each according to his needs."

Who is the real author of the saying

In fact, the great ideologist and philosopher was not the author of the slogan "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs."

Who said this phrase first in reality? The author of this saying is the French revolutionary Louis Jean Joseph Blanc. And he said it more than 20 years earlier than it appeared in the work of Marx.

The history of the phrase

However, according to the researchers, Blanc cannot be fully considered the author of the phrase “To each according to his needs, from each according to his ability”, since he borrowed this idea from another French philosopher 18th century - Etienne-Gabriel Morelli.

This thinker in his work The Code of Nature put forward the idea of ​​remuneration according to the needs of a member of society, and not because of the amount of work done by him. This principle was soon called "proportional equality" and was adopted with success by other socialists, including Marx.

The approximate date of the appearance of the phrase "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs" is 1847, although some sources call 1851.

In any case, it is Louis Blanc who is considered the full-fledged author of this slogan, while Karl Marx is its popularizer.

Principle of Proportional Equality in the Bible

Although this idea was first formulated in the 18th century and gained particular popularity in the second half of the 19th century, it is far from new. This practice was one of the first to be described in the New Testament.

In the book "Acts of the Holy Apostles" in the 4th chapter, it is said that after the ascension of Jesus Christ and the descent of the Holy Spirit on his disciples, a Christian community was organized. All those who believed "and no one ... called anything his own, but they had everything in common." They sold houses and all property and, having entered the community, they brought all the money to the Apostles. The same distributed them among all the believers: "... each was given what he needed."

Thus, although the phrase "To each according to his need, from each according to his ability" appeared in the 19th century, the idea itself was tested in practice as early as the 1st century. new era.

"From each according to his ability - to each according to his needs": the meaning of the phrase

The slogan “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs” means that any citizen of a society in which this principle operates is obliged to work as diligently and efficiently as possible in accordance with his chosen specialization. In return, he will be able to receive everything necessary for life. Moreover, what will be received will not correspond to the amount of work performed (as is customary in capitalist society), but to the fact that this moment a person needs.

What does the principle of proportional equality look like from the point of view of theory

If we follow the ideas of Blanc, Morelli and Marx, then the introduction in society of calculation according to the principle “From each according to his abilities, to each according to his needs”, has the following meaning.

A certain Ivanov Petr Sidorovich works as a turner at the plant. He usually works diligently, but this month he came down with the flu and had to take a week's sick leave, which means he completed a quarter of less work than does usually a month.

In a capitalist society, he should have received a quarter less salary. However, according to the principle of proportional equality, due to illness, Ivanov's needs have increased, therefore, in the month in which he was ill, he receives no less salary, but even more, since in order to restore normal physical condition he needs not only medicines, but also rest, as well as nutrition enriched with vitamins.

On the other hand, if in another month the same Ivanov felt a surge of creative forces and did 2 times more work than he usually does, he still receives the same salary that corresponds to his needs (if they have not increased in a given month).

Conditions for the implementation of this idea

Such an organization of human remuneration looks very attractive. But every sane person will immediately find many shortcomings in it. That is why its creators set a number of conditions under which the principle of proportional equality can exist.

• First of all, the citizens of society must have a high moral development, in particular honesty, which will not allow them to cheat and hack.
• Secondly, in such a society there should be an abundance of goods and services. Then each person will be able to have a theoretical and practical opportunity to satisfy his needs both at the moment and in case of their increase.
• Thirdly, work should not be imposed as a necessary means of survival, but should become desirable for every citizen. It turns out that a person in such a society should want to constantly realize himself through the fulfillment of his duties.
• And the last condition should be the presence of a clear, adequate leadership that will control fair uniform distribution good.

In addition to all of the above, most of the ideologists of socialism agreed that with such a structure of society, private property should be abolished in it, with the exception of small items that allow people to satisfy their biological needs.

Why hasn't this idea been implemented yet?

No matter how beautiful the theory, it did not stand the test of practice. Moreover, this happened at the beginning of a new era. Indeed, one of the first known attempts to live according to the principle “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs”, undertaken by the first Christians, failed. Just a few centuries later, on the basis of the communities described in the Acts of the Holy Apostles, the institution of the church was formed, which for many centuries divided society into slaves and shepherds. Moreover, people who call themselves servants of God and allegedly act in His interests, in practice were engaged in personal enrichment. For this, they, trampling on the commandments of Christ (calling to love your neighbor), sent thousands of innocent people to death, extolling the murders and robbery, blessed by them, to the rank of virtue.

Others most famous experiments were the USSR and Nazi Germany.

Both of them failed, which were accompanied by huge losses.

So, why did the principle of proportional equality fail to be implemented?

In addition to all of the above, the utopian nature of this idea is a direct consequence of the understanding of the problem by its creators themselves. As a rule, these were people of intelligent professions from wealthy families, who only in theory represented the life of the proletariat, about which they so loved to philosophize. So, Morelli was a teacher, Blanc was a nobleman who worked as a journalist; and Karl Marx was the son of a Jewish lawyer and was engaged in intellectual work all his life.

The expression “To each according to his need, from each according to his ability” has a kind of “twin brother”. It's about about the principle of socialism, which became the main one for the Constitution of the USSR in 1936: "From each according to his abilities, to each according to his work."

Although at first glance it seems that the meaning of these slogans is identical, this is not at all the case. The first example speaks of needs that often exceed the abilities and benefits that a particular person brings.

At the same time, the second slogan speaks of remuneration according to the work done. And as often happens, this reward may not be enough to satisfy even the most minimal human needs.

By the way, if you think about it, Blanc's slogan describes the structure of a utopian socialist society, and the Soviet postulate describes the capitalist system so hated in the USSR.

To each according to his needs

Communism introduces a form of distribution of material and spiritual wealth based on the principle: to each according to his needs. In other words, every person, regardless of his position, regardless of the quantity and quality of labor that he is able to give to society, receives from him without money everything that he needs.

It is easy to understand that this means not only the greatest revolution in the views on work, which, as shown above, ceases to be just a means of earning. Together with the disappearance of the need to control the measure of labor and consumption, together with the abolition of money and the disappearance commodity-money relations the very nature of the relationship between man and society is changing radically. These connections are finally freed from selfish considerations, from everything that the pursuit of earnings, material gain brought into them.

The opportunity at any time to receive free of charge from public stocks everything that is needed for a cultural and prosperous life, will improve the entire psyche of people, which will no longer be pressured by concern for tomorrow. AT new psychology and the new morality will no longer have a place for thoughts about income and private property, the hunt for which, under capitalism, was the whole meaning of life for many people. Man will finally have the opportunity to devote himself high interests among which public interests will come to the fore.

Distribution according to needs is introduced under communism, however, not from humanitarian considerations alone, not only from the desire to free all members of society from concern for the future. This is also done from a straight economic necessity, which occurs on this high level development of social production. By distributing material and spiritual wealth in accordance with the needs of the people, the communist system thereby creates best conditions for further development its main productive force - the working man, for the flowering of all his abilities. This benefits both the individual and society equally. Pointing to this circumstance, Engels wrote that “distribution, insofar as it is governed by purely economic considerations, will be governed by the interests of production, while the development of production is more

of everything is stimulated in such a way of distribution that allows everyone members of society to develop, maintain and exercise their abilities as comprehensively as possible” 5 .

Some narrow-minded critics of Marxism try to prove the impracticability of the ideals of communist society by posing various "tricky" questions. If all goods were distributed free of charge, they ask, wouldn't everyone want to buy every day not only a new suit, but also a new car? And what will happen if each member of society demands a palace with several dozen rooms or wishes to acquire a collection of jewelry and unique works of art?

The authors of such ridiculous assumptions slander the citizens of the future communist society, to whom they attribute their own vices. The communist system, of course, cannot take upon itself the satisfaction of any whims and whims. Its goal, Engels emphasized, is the satisfaction reasonable needs people in ever-increasing numbers 6 . Does this mean that instead of monetary relations, some other form of compulsory regulation of consumption will be needed? No, under communism, one must think, it will not be necessary to establish at all which needs are reasonable and which are not. The people themselves will be cultured and conscious enough not to make obviously unreasonable demands on society. As Lenin wrote in 1917, communism “presupposes not the present productivity of labor and not now a layman capable of "in vain" - sort of like Pomyalovsky's bursaks - to spoil the warehouses of public wealth and demand the impossible.

In order to instill in all citizens a reasonable attitude towards consumption, of course, it will take some time, but there is no doubt that this task is quite up to the shoulder of the society of the future with its abundance of material and spiritual goods and high level consciousness of citizens. And if, nevertheless, there are a certain number of people with unjustifiably high claims, they still will not be able to disorganize the communist distribution system. For people with exorbitant appetites, Engels wrote, society can give... a double portion. But in a communist society, this will only put them in a ridiculous position in front of public opinion. After that, there are hardly any hunters to repeat such an experience.

It will be all the easier to create a habit of communist forms of consumption because it does not require from people some kind of artificial self-restraint or asceticism, a harsh lifestyle. The preaching of asceticism is generally alien to scientific communism, which sees the goal of social

production in full satisfaction material and spiritual needs of all members of society. And the communist society itself from the first steps of its history will be rich enough not only to generously provide all the needs of citizens in food, clothing, shelter and other essentials, but also to put at their disposal everything that is necessary for a developed and cultured person for a full and happy life.

Under communism, the very culture of consumption will undoubtedly grow, people's tastes will develop and "become more refined and unmistakable. Communist public relations they will bring up such a person who will be organically alien to the perverted tastes and needs characteristic of past eras, when things, the level of consumption served as one of the main indicators of a person's position in society. Instead of luxury, the main criteria for the value of things will be convenience and true beauty; people will stop seeing things as an object of vanity and a measure life success, will cease to live for the sake of acquiring things, thereby returning to them their true purpose - to facilitate and decorate the life of a person.

It can be assumed that the laws of mass production will operate in the same direction, as will the production of all basic goods under communism. Of course, in time communist society will become so rich that it will be able to satisfy the most high demands of people. But it will also be so reasonable that it will not want to waste human labor and public property. And there will always be a more reasonable and worthy application for both. This, of course, will not be about reducing aesthetic requirements, but about the birth of new, higher aesthetic criteria that correspond to the whole image and structure of the new life.

"From each according to his ability, to each according to his work"- a phrase that became widely known thanks to Pierre Joseph Proudhon (widely used it in his writings), the so-called "principle of socialism" (one of the main ones), proclaimed in the Constitution of the USSR of 1936 (according to which distribution should take place under socialism).

Story

June 11, 1936 - The Central Executive Committee approved the draft of a new Soviet constitution. The first section (" social organization”) ends like this: “The principle of socialism is being implemented in the USSR: from each according to his ability, to each according to his work.”

The phrase of the Constitution of the USSR of 1936 in the text of the Constitution of 1977 was slightly changed: "From each - according to his ability, to each - according to his work."

Variations

Is our Soviet society It has achieved that it has already realized in the main socialism, created a socialist system, that is, it has accomplished what the Marxists call otherwise the first, or lower, phase of communism. This means that we have already achieved in the main the first phase of communism, socialism. The basic principle of this phase of communism is, as is well known, the formula: from each according to his ability, to each according to his work". Should our Constitution reflect this fact, the fact of the conquest of socialism? Should it be based on this conquest? Certainly should. It should, since socialism for the USSR is something that has already been mined and conquered. But Soviet society has not yet achieved the realization of the highest phase of communism, where the formula will be the dominant principle: from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs»

Marxism says only one thing: until classes are finally abolished, and until labor becomes from a means of subsistence the first need of people, voluntary labor for society, people will be paid for their work according to labor. "From each according to his ability, to each according to his work" - such is the Marxist formula of socialism, that is, the formula of the first stage of communism, the first stage of communist society. Only in the highest stage of communism, only in the highest phase of communism, each one, working according to his ability, will receive for his work in accordance with his needs. "From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs" (Stalin).

To return capitalism means instead of the socialist principle proclaimed now in our USSR " from each according to his ability, to each according to his work"and the principle" who does not work shall not eat"to return to the capitalist principle "he who works, he does not eat", to revive the class of parasites and exploiters and at the same time turn labor again from a matter of honor, valor, heroism into hard labor, forcibly carried out under the threat of hunger and the stick of capital.

According to Lenin - equality in labor, equality in pay:

... Accounting and control - this is the main thing that is required for "adjustment", for the correct functioning of the first phase of communist society. All citizens are transformed here into employees for hire by the state, which is the armed workers. All citizens become employees and workers of one national, state "syndicate". The whole point is that they work equally, correctly observing the measure of work, and receive equally. Accounting for this, control over this is simplified by capitalism to the extreme, to unusually simple operations of observation and recording, knowledge accessible to any literate person. four actions arithmetic and issuance of corresponding receipts.

When the majority of the people begin independently and everywhere to carry out such accounting, such control over the capitalists (now turned into employees) and over the gentlemen of the intelligentsia, who have retained capitalist habits, then this control will become truly universal, universal, nationwide, then it will be impossible to evade it in any way. nowhere to go."

The whole society will be one office and one factory with equality of labor and equality of pay.

To each according to his ability, to each according to his needs

According to the classics of Marxism, the principle “To each according to his ability, to each according to his needs!” is realized in a communist society.

... In the highest phase of communist society, after the subordination of man to the division of labor, which enslaves man, disappears; when the opposition of the mental and physical labor; when labor ceases to be only a means of life, and becomes itself the first need of life; when together with comprehensive development individuals will grow and productive forces and all sources of social wealth will flow in full flow- only then will it be possible to completely overcome the narrow horizon of bourgeois law, and society will be able to write on its banner: To each according to his ability, to each according to his needs»

Often the difference between socialism and communism was illustrated by the difference in their basic slogans.

It is said that the difference between socialism and communism is that the slogan of socialism is: "From each according to his ability, to each according to his work."

Our Soviet society has achieved that it has already achieved in the main socialism, created a socialist system, that is, it has achieved what the Marxists call otherwise the first, or lower, phase of communism. This means that we have already achieved in the main the first phase of communism, socialism. The basic principle of this phase of communism is, as is well known, the formula: from each according to his ability, to each according to his work". Should our Constitution reflect this fact, the fact of the conquest of socialism? Should it be based on this conquest? Certainly should. It should, since socialism for the USSR is something that has already been mined and conquered. But Soviet society has not yet achieved the realization of the highest phase of communism, where the formula will be the dominant principle: from each according to his ability, to each according to his needs»

Marxism says only one thing: until classes are finally abolished, and until labor becomes from a means of subsistence the first need of people, voluntary labor for society, people will be paid for their work according to labor. "From each according to his ability, to each according to his work" - such is the Marxist formula of socialism, that is, the formula of the first stage of communism, the first stage of communist society. Only in the highest stage of communism, only in the highest phase of communism, each one, working according to his abilities, will receive for his work in accordance with his needs. “From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs” (Stalin).

To return capitalism means instead of the socialist principle now proclaimed in our USSR. from each according to his ability, to each according to his work"and the principle" who does not work shall not eat"to return to the capitalist principle "he who works, he does not eat", to revive the class of parasites and exploiters and at the same time turn labor again from a matter of honor, valor, heroism into hard labor, forcibly carried out under the threat of hunger and the stick of capital.

According to Marx,

... In the highest phase of communist society, after the subordination of man to the division of labor, which enslaves man, disappears; when the opposite of mental and physical labor disappears along with it; when labor ceases to be only a means of life, but becomes itself the first necessity of life; when, along with the all-round development of individuals, productive forces also grow and all sources of social wealth flow in full flow - only then will it be possible to completely overcome the narrow horizon of bourgeois law, and society will be able to write on its banner: " To each according to his ability, to each according to his needs».