alt Hacker NewsI think that both this and GP are misguided. The pace of societal change in a given direction is neither inherently proportional to the pace of change in a different direction (GP) nor is the pace part of the direction (you).
You have to engage with the specific historical events/factors that led to the direction and the pace in order to change either. Broad statements like "society is big so change has to be slow" are just as unwarranted as "slow change results in decline".
There's a correct answer to "how quickly can change in a new direction be achieved". It will probably only become known after the fact. It will certainly not be model-able as a function with variables for "progressive or not" and "speed of change".
My argument is more along the lines of "slow change has resulted in decline observably for the time period I have observed it and we should try catalyzing something else"
I grant that whether that winds up being fast or slow even if the attempt is intended to be fast is out of my or anyone's hands for the most part as the system dampens that barring total collapse and chaos :P