Maybe the problem with C++ is that it tries too hard to preserve backwards compatibility? I think it makes some of the newer features clunkier. If the C++ standards folks did something like Google's Abseil and provided an upgrade tool while discontinuing old features they might have ended up with a better language. I understand something like that might not work for everyone, but from what I've gathered in talking to other devs, there is a strong distaste for the current state of C++.