"To a first approximation, no person or group who has entered the existing halls of power has done more than cosmetic redecoration"
Alternate interpretation: Progress is incremental and imperfect. It's easy and pedestrian to view this as "cosmetic redecoration", and fantasize about an Apocalyptic overhaul of the existing social order, then setting up The Kingdom Of Heaven On Earth
We're still retelling Bible stories, even in the ostensibly secular age we inhabit