system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
[Dune] So Arrakis is the only source of Spice, which is essential for FTL, longevity and the basis of the Galactic economy. So why is it treated like an undeveloped backwater? Why wouldn't the Emperor make it his capital?
gpt
First off, the more desert, the more worms. The more worms, the more spice. And for most of human's history with the planet, it was impossible to remove the worms from Arrakis and start spice production elsewhere. You don't pave over a water source because you want to live near it. 

Second, YOU try maintaining comfortable human living conditions on a planet-wide desert. Earth's most hostile deserts are a tropical beach at sunset compared to Arrakis. Sand is in EVERYTHING, constantly eating into any materials both natural and human-made. You breathe it, you eat it. And it does excellent work in breaking everything down. The heat destroys whatever is left. Sure, it's physically possible to build and maintain comfortable housing and cool buildings, but the cost would be astronomical. Not to mention the Guild getting their share of the CONSTANT imports that would be necessary to maintain this artificial construction. 

And third, it does become a seat of power and civilization over time. Arrakis is eventually terraformed into a paradise world perfect for human life. The results are basically the genocide of the worms and the loss of everything that made Arrakis what it was. (it doesn't last forever though, the desert and the worms return)