I wonder how much of this is just commonplace in any industry. Isn't mediocrity to be expected if people are, on average, well... average? When I walk into a bank I don't expect them all to be the best bankers in the world. Most of the restaurants I go to are fine, not earth shattering. Houses are built by crews of various competence. Government is run by the inept. Militaries are staffed with cannon fodder. Etc.
Why is it a problem that some people do the bare minimum? By and large they still contribute in some small way to the project, hopefully. I'd much rather work with people who are less competent but easy to get along with than someone who is above average but also cocky and inapproachable and won't take feedback well.
Most software and business problems aren't that hard. You don't need the best people to work on them. Superstar devs are sometimes just a pain in the ass and not worth the small improvements to code they can bring if they are a thorn in everyone's sides. Coding is just routine groupwork, not an Olympic sport.
My 2c as someone who's slightly below or slightly above average, can't really tell and don't really care lol.
