^^^^ CB; This is better said that the notion of equality to which Marx refers in the phrase "to each according to need" has a certain complexity beyond mere identity of treatment. It is dialectically contradictory in that it is _equality through inequality_. It recognizes tht because different people have different needs, true equality requires difference in distribution of means.
Affirmative action to overcome white supremacy is another example of achieving equality through inequality or unequal treatment.
By the way, the other part of the slogan , "from each according to ability" is also a form of inequality in that some contribute more than others, but it assumes that they do so willingly and happily because the social psychology of people in communism is transformed revolutionarily from that in capitalism.