If our legislators had introduced into their codes the principle of distributive justice which governs printing-offices; if they had observed the popular instincts,--not for the sake of servile imitation, but in order to reform and generalize them,--long ere this liberty and equality would have been established on an immovable basis, and we should not now be disputing about the right of property and the necessity of social distinctions.
It has been calculated that if labor were equally shared by the whole number of able-bodied individuals, the average working-day of each individual, in France, would not exceed five hours.

This being so, how can we presume to talk of the inequality of laborers?
It is the LABOR of Robert Macaire that causes inequality.
The principle, TO EACH ACCORDING TO HIS LABOR, interpreted to mean, WHO WORKS MOST SHOULD RECEIVE MOST, is based, therefore, on two palpable errors: one, an error in economy, that in the labor of society tasks must necessarily be unequal; the other, an error in physics, that there is no limit to the amount of producible things.
"But," it will be said, "suppose there are some people who wish to perform only half of their task ?"...

Is that very embarrassing?
Probably they are satisfied with half of their salary.

Paid according to the labor that they had performed, of what could they complain?
and what injury would they do to others?
In this sense, it is fair to apply the maxim,--TO EACH ACCORDING TO HIS RESULTS.

It is the law of equality itself.
Further, numerous difficulties, relative to the police system and the organization of industry, might be raised here.