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If C++ is mainstream (it is) then complexity is clearly not an obstacle.

There’s historical reasons for that.

C++, if released today, would not result in the same user base.

Pretty sure C++ is mainstream because of C and its own earlier versions, so regardless of the complex mess it became now.

It is not inherently complex, it depends on what components you pick. You can use almost any programming paradigm in C++ nowadays. But I agree that many codebases are complex because of the flexibility and not deliberately choosing a particular paradigm.

For many other languages, it's practical to know the whole language.

C++ is an exercise in trying to make one language do everything and support every paradigm. The explosion of new languages recently shows that that approach is not winning. IMO because it inevitably means a leaky abstraction over a more complicated language, and lots of discipline to avoid the leaky areas. (JS seems to be edging in the same direction, although they have the excuse that browser support for alternate languages is still limited)

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