Exactly! abstraction is the new bureaucracy.

Each layer promises efficiency but adds hidden coordination cost. Ten years ago, a web app meant a framework and a database. Now it’s React → Electron → Chromium → Docker → Kubernetes → managed DB → API gateway - six layers deep to print “Hello, world.”

Every abstraction hides just enough detail to make debugging impossible. We’ve traded control for convenience, and now no one owns the full stack - just their slice of the slowdown.