First, to be literal, a peddler is an itinerant merchant--who doesn't
"get a check" (i.e., a salary), but lives by selling merchandise at a
price higher than he or she paid for it. An investment capitalist
isn't a pedlar, a feudal lord collecting his tithe isn't a peddler, a
factory worker isn't a pedlar (tho, as Marx emphasized, she or he is
selling/renting labour power by the hour), nor is a store clerk, nor
is a prostitute. nor is an actor. Thus we are dealing with a
metaphor. That one must do something perceived as socially necessary
labour (Marx again) to "get a check" is assuredly true. Thus we all
have something in common with peddlers (and prostitutes, hence the
commonplace metaphor that we all "peddle our asses."
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