From each according to his ability, to each according to his needs (; ) is a
slogan first used by
Louis Blanc in 1851 (although an earlier version of the saying appeared in
Étienne-Gabriel Morelly's
The Code of Nature) and popularised by
Karl Marx in his 1875
Critique of the Gotha Program. The principle refers to free access and distribution of goods and services. In the Marxist view, such an arrangement will be made possible by the
abundance of goods and services that a developed
communist system will produce; the idea is that, with the full development of
socialism and unfettered productive forces, there will be enough to satisfy everyone's needs.