Actually I think a big part of the problem in C++ is the low level of abstraction of the standard library. It isn't friction that might cause an image resizing

Actually I think a big part of the problem in C++ is the low level of abstraction of the standard library. It isn't friction that might cause an image resizing library to be all-encompassing; it's the lack of an abstract Image class in the standard library which would enable a resizing library to live side by side with image encoders and decoders, instead of needing to bundle them together. The C++ standard library isn't rich enough. It doesn't have enough concepts for a good ecosystem of smaller components.