I think a much better comparison is with C. C, similarly, has a paucity of features. It is also relatively easy to grasp its core. However, this has never prevented C from being used to build very powerful applications.

I would like to know exactly what the established programming language research is. My strong impression is that if there was ever anything that was not established it was 'how to build the best programming language'. Not trolling, just asking for clarification on that point.