Bellamy's lack of incentives and inaccurate assumptions about human behavior are two interrelated faults in his society. Edward Bellamy overestimated the good qualities of human behavior and, therefore, underestimated the importance of incentives. Incentives play a key role in the functioning of a society. A person's actions are guided by incentives. A person will choose to do an act if the benefits to himself as a result of the act are greater than the cost of doing the act.
Utility also plays a role in incentives.
People generally want to maximize utility, and minimize losses. Here is where Bellamy overestimated the goodness in human behavior. Bellamy did feel that lower class men would need some incentive though. His solution was that the higher class men could serve as role models for the others. Unfortunately for Bellamy, human nature and behavior is not this way.