What Are the Unintended Consequences?
Many problems are solved iteratively, with solutions that are conservative. For this reason, making significant changes often requires a revolution. However, even innocuous changes can lead to unintended consequences.
Problems that are solved disappear from view, and eventually so does the fact that the problem ever existed. Only then can the problems not easily solved come into focus. For example, air pollution becomes a problem once the internal combustion engine has solved many other problems regarding poverty.
The order that is most real is the order that is most unchanging - and that is not necessarily the order that is most easily seen.
Order that has been around for a long time is around for good reason, with reasons that are not always visible. Since it's easier to make something worse than it is to make it better, making certain changes may result in unintended consequences. For example, banning the internal combustion engine would cause even more problems. A solution to air pollution that also solves the problems previously solved is required.
When making a change, if something was quickly decided on or is relatively recent, there may not be good reason to preserve it. However, if something has survived for a long time, it is better to assume that there might be a deeper meaning or importance behind it and to avoid any changes. For example, removing very old code that appears useless may cause unintended consequences if that code was meant for an edge case.
Be wary of making any changes without a first principles understanding of what the effects of the change are.
References
12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson