I agree that there should have been some kind of "core" package for Node.js that is supervised by the developers but still an optional download, but the people

I agree that there should have been some kind of "core" package for Node.js that is supervised by the developers but still an optional download, but the people that were initially in charge of NPM fought that idea to death in order to make people... use and rely on NPM. Some people absolutely took advantage of the situation from a financial standpoint and created a business opportunity for themselves, at the expense of the community.