Board Thread:Warhammer 40k General Discussion/@comment-25618639-20141119150740/@comment-24944355-20141206002055

The empire is falling apart, corruption is eating at it's core any primarch would see that & realize that without reform the empire will fall. Any reform will mean cutting at the base of those in power who will resist any reduction of what they see as their right to rule.

For an example you only need the last century of republican Rome. The conservatives among the ruling elite had a good thing going as they saw it as they plundered the empires dominions for personal gain were running the entire imperium into the ground. Any attempts by more forward thinking members of the senate to reform these abuses & fix the crumbling empire were met with murderous violence. Gradually the reformers were forced adopt violent tactics themselves just to survive let alone enable any reform. This led to a series of civil wars that all but destroyed the empire until the reformers under 1st Julius Caesar & then his nephew Octavian/Augustus won & righted the empire. But to fix the empire they were forced to end republican rule because the aristocrats who had run things were so intractable & corrupt that they simply could not be trusted to let run the empire anymore & the oligarchy gave way to monarchy.

The lesson here is that any primarch who attempted to reform the empire of 40k would face the same issues with the same likely results, that whatever his desires he would have to end up taking total control in order to force any reforms through & keep them - that would take a civil war.