This stupid adage by Marx has to die. It never works.
For one, some people have extraordinary abilities, and will be pissed off if, in exchange for their extraordinary contributions, they only got the income "according to their needs", as defined by government. This basically takes away all the motivation to excel at something.
Also, the masses would be discontent because their perceived "needs" are much bigger that their actual ability to produce anything. This is partially remedied by capitalism, where the "greedy capitalist" basically forces them to work harder than they would out of their own free will.
I think you might be mistaken about the ratio of the average person's needs/abilities... a probing question is: do we really need telemarketers to continue to exist (just so people have jobs... and that's better that people receive unwanted calls... because?)?
Greed is greed and shouldn't be rewarded.
I otherwise basically agree with you... just that most people are basically able and society doesn't need to do things arbitrarily if there is a better (more direct) way...
We don't need to be in a constant state of production/consumption - we can take a break and still feed people. We throw out food if we aren't selling it because we'd rather let people starve than get a free loaf of bread... which really just stems from a lack of imagination and empathy.
Let's imagine a better world. Imagine and make it so.
Telemarketers are not subsidized. If there is no return on investment for employing them, companies won't employ them at all.
But the companies use of telemarketers isn't a net benefit to society. If the company instead spent on product quality, warranty services, employee benefits, or charity, we'd see more of a net-positive impact on the world around us. Generally, companies spending money competing for market share through advertising only benefits specific parties, and only financially.
The goals and incentives (for companies) aren't currently aligned with our needs & problems (as a society). So a lot of resources get spent on things like advertising, that (in theory) could instead be spent on solving problems related to housing, healthcare, infrastructure, if the incentives existed or the goals were set differently.
Who decides what is a net benefit to society?
In capitalism people vote with their own money: if there is a demand for some good or service it keeps getting provided.
Of course you might argue, that average person can be manipulated into buying things that are harmful to them, but if you want to prevent that there's really no way to do that efficiently other than turning the whole country into a totalitarian surveillance state. And you also need an elite, a group of people who are above the law because they are just smarter, and know better and therefore set the rules for lesser beings.
I was not at all advocating for Marx or that quote.
I'm just pointing out that it's largely a universal truth that if we want a functioning society with food and roads and electricity and houses and internet, a lot of people are going to have to do something they would rather not do.
The "greedy capitalist" is more about how the work is coordinated. We have a market-based system where work assignments are more or less voluntary where he who signs the checks sets the work. But I am not volunteering myself to going back to a manorial or subsistence agriculture society.