Total Individual Autonomy within Marginal Institutional Systems: The Marginal Autonomy-System Conflict (MASC) Theory for Soul Autonomy Attainment

Contemporary institutional and organizational systems increasingly rely on standardized procedures and motivation-centric mechanisms to ensure compliance and performance. Despite these efforts, psychological strain, disengagement, and unstable behavioral patterns persist even among individuals whose material and motivational needs are adequately met, revealing a critical gap in existing governance and management models. This paper employs the Global Success Measures Model (GSM-8) as an integrative macro-meso-micro framework for institutional design and execution and embeds within it the Marginal Autonomy-System Conflict (MASC) theory to explain human psychological responses to systemic structures. Using a conceptual-analytical methodology, the study synthesizes insights from psychology, ethics, organizational theory, and governance to demonstrate that sustainable performance and institutional stability emerge when individuals retain protected autonomy-defined as situational and decision-making freedom exercised within value-bounded and marginal procedural systems. The paper's primary contribution lies in formalizing autonomy, inner directive alignment, and freedom within values as necessary conditions for translating institutional structures into consistent performance and long-term outcomes. The framework offers important implications for organizational design, public administration, and policy by shifting the focus from motivation-based control toward collaborative, dignity-centered governance capable of sustaining both human well-being and institutional effectiveness.

https://www.academia.edu/145884408/Total_Individual_Autonomy_within_Marginal_Institutional_Systems_The_Marginal_Autonomy_System_Conflict_MASC_Theory_for_Soul_Autonomy_Attainment?source=swp_share