The reality I know is that there is much more work to do than what only the really talented, self managing, committed developers can do. So we (I mean "society"

The reality I know is that there is much more work to do than what only the really talented, self managing, committed developers can do. So we (I mean "society") also need to be able to put the not-so-talented, and/or not-so-committed, and/or not-self-managing developers in the conditions to be productive - which isn't working alone from home. So, I completely agree that remote work should be leveraged much more often, especially as remote collaboration technologies are getting better and better, but this won't be the one-size-fits-all solution. Just like the traditional 9-5 office isn't.