There is many example where the ruling class could convince the people to reject things which is good for them
It is not any different from oligarchic nations in Aeryon past life.
The oligarchic class convinced those who are just common people, middle class and somewhat rich person that they share the same struggle and helping the oligarchic class is in their best interest when they are actually helping themselves be enslaved.
This is why reforms are hard.
When a reform met resistance, the reform then either stalls, modified or push through.
Each one has its pros and cons and it is up to the ruler of that reform to decide and to judge which method is the best
Hence, in the history of the world, it is always the small nation that could reform easily. But even this mention of "easily" is relative when compared
Easy because when compared to big nation that have many intertwining interest, it appears easy.
But even this "easy" is not that easy.
There would always be resistance.
