Now, the Saint-Simonians believed it possible to remedy these evils of distribution only by the substitution of state property for private property. At the same time, they rejected any equal distribution of labor’s products, which would give the active and energetic no more than the slow and indolent, which would treat alike the stupid clown, who was only a burden and a nuisance, and a great genius whose talents increased the wealth and prosperity of the nation. The Saint-Simonians held that men were by nature unequal, and that it was right to reward superior power, when exerted for the general good. Their idea was that each one should labor according to his capacity and be rewarded according to the services rendered. They wished to organize civil society on the plan of an army. This thought is distinctly expressed by one of their leaders in these words: “In the army gradations in rank and authority are already established, while in civil life that is precisely what is wanting; and in an enterprise conducted upon the principle of association, a central administration is imperiously required.”[51] The officers are the directing authority in this scheme, and they decide on the value of the services rendered to society and reward the citizens accordingly. As society consists of priests, savants, and industrials—the industrials comprising those engaged in manufactures, agriculture, and commerce[52]—so the government consists of the chiefs of the priests, the chiefs of the savants, and the chiefs of the industrials. All property belongs to the church, _i.e._, to the state, and every profession or trade is a religious exercise and has its rank in the social hierarchy.[53] It is not clearly stated how the ruling body was to be selected, whether by popular vote or otherwise. The idea of the Saint-Simonians seems to have been, however, that the good and wise, the best, would be voluntarily and without dissension selected as leaders—an idea scarcely warranted by the world’s experience with universal suffrage. The Saint-Simonians necessarily rejected inheritance from their scheme, as they regarded idlers as thieves, and wished each one to be rewarded only in accordance with his own individual merits. All should start with equal advantages and only avail themselves of nature’s inequalities, _i.e._, superior talents. Christ’s command was “Away with slavery!” Saint-Simon’s, “Away with inheritance!” Property now inherited would naturally become common property in the new society. The Saint-Simonians were accused in the Chamber of Deputies of advocating community of goods and community of wives. They defended themselves in a _brochure_ dated October 1, 1830, which it is worth while to quote, as it gives their ideas on these two important subjects:[54]