I say, first, that the physician must be treated with as much favor as any other producer, that he must not be placed below the level of others.

This I will not stop to prove.

But I add that neither must he be lifted above that level; because his talent is collective property for which he did not pay, and for which he is ever in debt.
Just as the creation of every instrument of production is the result of collective force, so also are a man's talent and knowledge the product of universal intelligence and of general knowledge slowly accumulated by a number of masters, and through the aid of many inferior industries.
When the physician has paid for his teachers, his books, his diplomas, and all the other items of his educational expenses, he has no more paid for his talent than the capitalist pays for his house and land when he gives his employees their wages.

The man of talent has contributed to the production in himself of a useful instrument.

He has, then, a share in its possession; he is not its proprietor.