During this meeting, a point was raised. There are organizations which cannot consume third party libraries. For example, downloading from GitHub or installing using vcpkg or conan. This is a legitimate concern. And if the C++ Standard does not offer a solution, it becomes an unfulfilled demand.

Which I just realized, is exactly the condition for market solutions to present themselves. This is what happened with static analysis tools. As long as the C++ Standard satisfies the implicit promise that it will use as the sole justification for standardization, that organizations cannot use third party solutions - no one else will step in to fill the demand.

I would bet that if C++ no longer offered std:: as a package manager, another entity will fill the gap. After all, the loss of supply does not diminish the demand. Perhaps a new working group would form, one whose sole purpose is to standardize library components with a different set of tradeoffs.

Food for thought.