I absolutely agree that for any 'system' to work, it ultimately has to function as a set of semi-autonomous pods with their own sense of ownership.

With the ability and confidence to adapt within ceratin guidelines while remaining part of the whole, and the wisdom and insight to collectively know how much adaptation is needed, and how much would be too much and no longer fulfil the overall goals, the 'prime directives'.

And I think that it's the complexity of establishing, staffing and maintaining such a system which encourages governments and authorities to impose top-down, lowest-common-denominator structures that are the qualitative equivalent of a prisoner's bread and water - it will keep their basic bodily functions operative, but no more. And generate suffering and resentment along the way.

Finland is often cited as 'best in class' for its educational system, which depends to a great extent on giving schools and teachers a greater degree of autonomy than in most countries. But again, the smaller the scale, the better that works: small schools, small class sizes. And hence a more fulfilling role for teachers, which means you can recruit and retain more staff, giving you a better pool of people to do the implementation.