This is one of the core points of the "Linux Sucks" series of presentations [1]. If you haven't seen any of them, I think a TLDR might be "technology is not holding the linux desktop back; lack of cooperation and other social issues are". And though slightly different and about about a separate domain, I think "The Lisp Curse" [2] has a similar thesis as to why lisp is not mainstream.
The linux kernel is a huge success because there is exactly one kernel and its monolithic architecture ensures that the only way to accomplish anything is to cooperate with everyone else so you can get your thing added in. If you want to do your own thing, that's fine, but it will never be a part of linux.
If the linux kernel had a micro kernel design, with different competing projects for the different layers of the kernel, the linux kernel would not be the success it is today. It would be a niche tool, like the linux desktop. In linux userland, the plethora of distributions, GUI toolkits, desktop environments, init systems, applications and so on ensures that none of the projects can ever succeed.
1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QKwWPQ1Orzs
2. http://winestockwebdesign.com/Essays/Lisp_Curse.html