Should people who are able to work, have to work? [View all]

[Puzzledtraveller]

From each according to his ability, to each according to his need

My knowledge of Marx is cursory at best but the above statement heralded by Marx but not attributed to him appears to be popular among many self identified Marxist. I wanted to know more about what Marx thought about the idea and found the following. My problem with the idea has always been that people should not have to work if they do not want to, it's that simple, for me. So I am struggling to understand why we would ever support such a system, at least the portion of "each according to his ability". As Marx himself appeared to understand that this would be applicable at some point in time in which work isn't the four letter word it is now to many. That being physical drudgery. I don't know about you but I do not see a time in the near future when work will not be physical, demanding, demeaning, repetitive and joyless as it can be to so many.

Personally I find the idea dangerous to progressivism, am I just understanding it wrong?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/From_each_according_to_his_ability,_to_each_according_to_his_need#Debates_on_the_idea

Marx delineated the specific conditions under which such a creed would be applicable—a society where technology and social organization had substantially eliminated the need for physical labor in the production of things, where "labor has become not only a means of life but life's prime want".[11] Marx explained his belief that, in such a society, each person would be motivated to work for the good of society despite the absence of a social mechanism compelling them to work, because work would have become a pleasurable and creative activity. Marx intended the initial part of his slogan, "from each according to his ability" to suggest not merely that each person should work as hard as they can, but that each person should best develop their particular talents