The problem is, we have been adding layers of indirection for 80 years, and each is leaky. So now it's very difficult to do basic stuff, and people are ok with software thick with abstractions.
The next stage should be removing unnecessary layers of indirection, as, like you said, things are much easier to understand and maintain that way.
"All problems in computer science can be solved by another level of indirection, except for the problem of too many layers of indirection." -- David Wheeler
But we don't have 900 layers or anything. Performance is... usually pretty darn good, except for uneccessary disk writes.
It's trivial to do basic stuff because of those layers. What's hard is doing low level things from scratch in a way that doesn't conflict. But at the same time, there's less and less need for that.
I think things are way easier to maintain with a bunch of layers than the old school ravioli code. Most layers are specifically meant to make it easier to maintain, or they just formalize a layer that was already effectively there, but was built into another layer in an ad hoc manner.
Pasta-based metaphors are the best.