The React Component Pyramid Scheme: An Over-Engineering Crisis

The pursuit of reusable React components has created over-engineered codebases filled with complex abstractions and prop-heavy components that are harder to maintain than simpler alternatives. The DRY principle, when applied dogmatically, leads to premature abstraction and components like Button.jsx that try to handle every use case with dozens of props and conditionals. Intentional code duplication is often more pragmatic than forced reuse, as it preserves clarity and allows code to evolve independently. The solution is adopting a post-reuse mindset that values simple, self-contained, context-aware components over universal abstractions, recognizing that the best component is one you can understand instantly rather than one you can use everywhere.