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Re: Cultural Status Quo
One major difference here is likely in game design. It sounds like in your world, the PCs are either the sole inhabitants or they're the "important" ones.
The world I'm discussing, and with most RPIs, the PCs are just a small percentage of the population. The rest of the population consists of NPCs and virtual NPCs. Therefore, this oft-silent majority maintains the cultural status quo.
Of course, one problem with these games, and one that I often worry about, is that PCs can feel like such minor players in the large, global scene that they feel helpless. That is, they feel they are unable to make changes in the game world, since they represent only a small portion of it. This feeling can be compounded by the fact that many of the powerful leaders are NPCs played by the staff and many of the decisions about government, laws, military camaigns and the like take place behind the scenes.
However, I think this feeling of helplessness can be countered by getting the PCs involved as much as possible and encouraging the idea that historical epochs rise and fall on the actions and decisions of common people. I think that maintaining this balance between cultural consistency and player apathy is difficult, but that the game I play on does a good job with it...something that can be backed up as many of the important events have been player driven and inspired.
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