Obviously, the environment matters. It's not just culture but geography, history, genetics. It's much easier to run a free country when you're surrounded by oceans (like the US) or mountains (like Switzerland) than when you're surrounded by potential conquerors.
But that is also true of bureaucracies. Honesty, attention to details, voluntary respect for rules make bureaucratic systems semi-liveable and not a hellish kleptocracy.
Every idea suffers from implementation problems. Not every idea is worth implementing though.
