The quote comes from a great philosopher, and as such, it's not meant to be understood literally. If you dwell on it, and understand the circumstances, you will realize that Marx was and will remain one of the best philosophers and will one day be know as the man who with the best economic theory. First, to understand the quote, you must understand that the quote pertains to another to a time in a future, where the level of intelligence and selflessness is at its peak. to put the quote in layman terms, everyone would work according to his ability, therefore eveyrone would work and there would not be any parasites that leech into and live off from others work. "From each according totheir needss" - if the level of intelligence its high, people will nkow tto take what they need, according to the work they have put in. So Iif am am the CEO of manufacturing plant and am a graduate, i am worth more thatn the guy that loads at teh warehouse. Therefore, I would take more, "according to my needs" and "according to my input in the society" And because my input is worth 10 times more than the warehouse loading guy, I would take 10 times more luxurious things than him.