Exactly. And you need to decide on a case-by-case basis whether having a longer runway (because C gives you more time before you run into scalability problems) compensates for needing longer before you can take off (because C is a harder language).
That's true for implementing the same algorithm. But C is so hard to get right, that you will probably be able to use only the simplest algorithms in your C code. (Or the other way round, you can scale by using better algorithms in a higher level language like Python much easier and longer than you can do so in C.)
That makes the comparison more complicated. Also Python (and most other languages) work quite nicely together with C. So you can start with Python and replace the hotspots with C. (And be sure to identify the hotspots with a profiler---lest you guess wrong.)
This is a gross exaggeration. It's not that hard to get C code right (C++ is a different story). I am unaware of any effort undertaken by skilled C programmers that failed because of limits C placed on algorithmic complexity. I am not arguing with your preference for higher level languages, just your statement that C is so difficult that it limits algorithmic expression.
C is substantially less compact and requires you to write code for things you get for free from other languages. Longer code takes more time to write and more time to read. Each feature or function point will, on average, take significantly longer to develop. On the other hand, a developer trying to write an OS in Python would also have some productivity challenges in other dimensions.
I am aware of the paradigmatic challenge C presents for many developers trained in the last 15 years. Trying to write in an OO style in C is neither fun nor advisable. Fortunately, most non-ui development is equally agreeable to other styles (although the developer may not be).
I'm not a C bigot and I like or love a number of high level languages (Python, Lisp, Haskell). I just don't think people should be afraid of C. Its closer-to-the-metal nature is an opportunity as well as a cost.
I'll close with a pointer to a great site written in C: http://www.halfbakery.com.
The original comment said, that with Python you run into scalability problems earlier than with C.
And I wanted to add, that with C you run into (solvable but hard) `scalability' problems in terms of effort needed to cope with algorithmic complexity, much sooner. And more clever algorithms are often the key to solving scalability problems.
(P.S. I do not like OOP, either. State is ugly.)
I have certainly seen this effect. In retrospect, I wonder if this could be somewhat mitigated by real refactoring for C?