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In the article “The Failure of the Profit Motive” Kenneth Lux insists on a necessity of introduction in the economy conception differ then “profit motive”. By “profit motive” the author means human believing that an economic growth is unlimited and increasing of the capital is of the first rank objective for an economy subjects. The author denies this theory by means of impossibility theorem, which states that, a subsystem (economy) of the closed system (ecosystem) can not be boundless. Lux overcomes Solow’s statement that the world can effectively develop without natural resources by stating that this thesis is based on the lowering of the share of resources in products and this fact, according to Lux is due to increasing of efficient use of resources. Lux stands against Hertsgaard’s “Global Green Deal” and diverging to clean economy of hydrogen and not changing human’s nature suggested by Cashman. In particular the author says that the first is sort of restatement of profit motive and the second conception is unacceptable due to impossibility of utilization of hydrogen energy and false statement that people in this clean economy will not be required to change. Further the author comes up with thought that people are disposed to successful development without profit motive via first, limiting of the needs and second, find an alternative to self-interest. Lux suggests common good and social welfare to self-interest emphasizing that examples of common good are present in our everyday life.

At the end of the article Lux suggests measures to introduce a society of the common good and social interests. The transformation from the economy of profits to economy of society has to be implemented by binding maximal and minimal wages and converse economy to non-profit. This according to the article will abandon equity markets, where will be no stock holders, bank will become non-profit, possibility of enrichment by investment will be excluded. All these will introduce sustainability in economy instead of profit motive.

If consider these ideas objectively the first comes to critical and inquisitive enough mind is: does this going to work, is it not a utopia? Lux says it will be the economy of sustainability but it looks that it will be an economy of stagnation. The author blames profit motive and growth for being impossible permanently, although nobody claims that infinite growth is essential for humankind – in economy as in nature everything is balanced. If some unbalanced process appears system self-regulates by different kinds of crises and changes within the economic system whether sharp and shocking or mild and moderate – that is development. The economic is a diverse as well as society, to measure everything and everyone using the same measure is not socialism, as Lux writes, it is even worse, it is communism. The principle of the wage linkage kills any incentive to progress and improvement. Lux states that common good will become an incentive to development. But common good is interesting for people only to some threshold which could be measured by a tax a person is willing to pay, time she/he agrees to devote to public work, eventually by mental peculiarities.

In conclusion it would be fair to mention that ideas presented in this article are itself utopia and even grains of true in it could not change total picture. Yes, economy can not grow infinitely, but who said it is pivotal moment of the present world economy and our society.