If almost everyone uses some editor, then it’s not really “littered”. We do the same and it’s nice for new teammates to quickly get set up. If they are one of the few folks that want to use some other editor, who cares? Files are free.
They didn’t say “your” model, they said “the” model.
Presumably they meant “the prevailing model”, that you partly (accurately, in my view) describe. And by wrong, I guess they just mean “bad” and not what they want, because the rest of the comment describes some hopes and dreams.
That too will cause social unrest, indeed. But we won’t suffer social unrest today just to make tomorrow easier, however wise that might be. We’ll kick the can.
Being right isn’t the only most important thing in the world, nor does it wash away all transgressions.