Clark growing up around these people means that he understands them a little better and sees that somethings just won't work for them. He also went through the pain of their squables and stubbornness so he probably would be more used to limiting his desires for the nuances of actual change. I think
All characters have to make pragmatic decisions at some point. Doesn't mean their defining features should be pragmatism. In fact, I don't think she could be considered a pragmatist in most of her solo stories, only when acompanied by Superman and Batman. And even then, if you set the general rule of pragmatism for her against those two, then you aren't really thinking about the nuances of the character, because I don't think she would pragmatic when it comes to just pretending that something didn't happen, or hiding a shameful truth.