I do agree that this is culture-based and according to lots of factor ... but what i believe is that all agile processes and development practices lead to empowering people, give them the courage to improve, refactor, take responsibility with the certainty that there is a roll-back point and reference for them, either in project development or the process itself.
Yep, I agree, in a healthy environment, agile works exactly like that.
Mary Poppendieck
Author of Lean Software Development, Implementing Lean Software Development, and Leading Lean Software Development