It's a leftover from a time when I unfairly criticised a number of programmers who were actually heroically fighting to deliver a quality product under bad management.
This is very Deming-esque, you know? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._Edwards_Deming
When a person is working under good management, with the autonomy to do what they need to be successful, the ability to get better at their work and master a field, and a clear purpose, responsibility is a given.
It is when individuals are falsely given responsibility for things they cannot possibly control that personal responsibility loses its credibility.
You don't have to blame management (or the system you're in) every time (and most people don't), but you should every time it is true, to preserve the very idea and value of responsibility itself.
"Never attribute to incompetence that which is adequately explained by bad management."