Is there a place for it today?
Edit: For the sake of the argument, let's include tangential ideas like graceful degradation, unobtrusive JavaScript, etc.
The biggest argument was accessibility, but it turns out people with extra needs don't want a poorly maintained version of the page with a ton of missing features. So instead additional aria tips were added, website operators encouraged (or required by law) to hit A-AAA, to explain parts of the page, combined with assistive technologies getting much better.
The other big argument was in essence "Build first for IE11, then add Firefox/WebKit features on top." Which naturally went away when IE died and evergreen browsers took over.
The opposite of a good idea is usually another good idea.
But people often prefer arguing to solving because arguing is easier than actual work.
And winning an argument feels like an accomplishment even though all the work remains.
Good luck.
I really hope HTMX gives us a new opportunity to reduce our reliance on arbitrary code running in the browser. Maybe it’s time for “HTML 6” to standardize what HTMX is capable of and move control back to the user.
It's not there for you; it's there for them: a large amount of it is advertising and tracking code.
The problem is not about progressive enhancement, the problem is website performance.