With capitalism the value of a product or service is equal to its value to the customer. Communism on the other hand is based on the notion that work is inheren

With capitalism the value of a product or service is equal to its value to the customer. Communism on the other hand is based on the notion that work is inherently valuable. Hence, with communism the value of a product or service isn't defined by its value to the customer but by the work put into it. While communism might appear to be more just at face value it tends to create inefficiencies, false incentives and shortages. If a busboy gets paid the same as software engineer there might not be enough of the latter to meet the demand. This leads to stagnation and less wealth, which in the end affects everyone, software engineers and busboys alike (even though admittedly it probably affects the software engineer's employer the most at first). Is it even just if a highly qualified person with valuable expertise gets paid the same as someone whose skills have less value? These aren't simple problems and questions. The modern welfare state has been an attempt to alleviate these issues while at the same time keeping capitalists incentives. It's not a perfect solution but for the most part it works. To really solve these problems once and for all we probably have to arrive at a post-scarcity situation first, where products and services are available in abundance at little to no marginal cost. A capitalist system - perhaps ironically - might be our best shot at getting there.