The key is how necessary the complexity is. The existence of simpler alternatives to systemd (that work just as well to run a system with) prove that its complexity is unnecessary. For things like Web browsers, the complexity is necessary, for better or worse.

I'm trying to balance between idealism and pragmatism. Source access is pragmatic only in a situation where you feel confident to dive it. I admire projects like suckless, Alpine, or Netsurf, because they prove this kind of balance can be maintained. But I'm still posting this from Safari ;)