Quote Originally Posted by Squark View Post
Social mobility varies wildly between planets. Remember, the majority of the worlds of the Imperium are actually classified as Civilized worlds (That is, self-sufficient agriculturally, but not focused on agricultural production like an agri-world), not hive worlds or forge worlds.
Yes, but the difference is that a wilderness, paradise or agricultural world is going to have a population that tops out a few billion citizens, max, simply based on density limitations, and probably much less (we're right on the cusp of that transition ourselves.) Hive worlds can house trillions of battery-farmed citizens, and based on simple math probably account for the great bulk of the imperium's warm bodies. (Forge worlds seem to have smaller populations, but still top out at many billions, and it's unclear whether that total includes the overwhelming majority of lobotomised servitors.) A randomly-selected imperial citizen will never see their planet's sun, and if they ever stray more than a few miles from their birthplace, it'll probably be as a guardsman conscript.