Yea, but why can't we correct this with modern technology? All the old reasons have more or less disappeared with shipping and computation. All the remains is greed.
Yea, that's my point: the reason is greed (and narcissism, self-delusion, etc). That's the only explanation I can think of: folks with privilege and power not only can't imagine a better world, they straight up prefer a hobbesian one where they can claim to deserve being on top.