I suspect it's that the old world is built upon attempting to copy something great that once existed, but over time the actual meaning gets lost and only the form persists, tacked together by a hodgepodge of frauds under the surface. Because of this, whenever anyone attempts to make significant changes in order to adjust to the new realities faced by a world facing very different challenges, they end up in an antagonistic relationship with those still trying to hold together the form of the old world.
From what I can see right now, those holding power seem to be of the mind that because the world they inherited is openly fraudulent (within their circles), that whatever comes next ought to also be openly fraudulent (within their circles), and they are deploying tremendous forces in an attempt to insist that it be so.
Yet because such a thing is impossible, as there is in fact a real world, there is significant destruction as the old powers ruling the world accost what they see as their rivals.
It's that a lot of people legitimately have a lot to lose, and nobody they can fight to prevent it. But that doesn't stop them from trying.