I disagree...(full transparency, I am one of those 'disaffected' slow progression people)...but this game has always had a significant population that just wants to lvl up as fast as possible. Even when there was no end game...
And I think what you are saying is that before Incarnates, there was no end-game, and grinding content was all there was...but that would have been really long ago...Before Incarnates, there was AE Farming, before that Reward Merits, Very Rare Purple IO's , then Flashback, then Inventions/Marketplace, before that Prestige/Supergroup/Base Raids, before that Epic AT's, and before that Hami-O's. There has always been a big shiny that has made people want to lvl up as quick as they can. There has always been a sizable contingent looking to get to that brass ring as fast as possible.
I also don't have a beef with any of this...but just pointing out that it has always been an issue...