So the "current rules for Bitcoin" are set in stone unless the directors of the core repository say otherwise?
Do I have your position understood correctly?
Yes. It's the original rules introduced by Satoshi Nakamoto.
Satoshi Nakamoto introduced his 1MB limit to prevent the dust attack also known as the first "stress test".
If you disagree with Satoshi's rules, you're getting on a slippery slope.
It begins with a block size. Is there so much use? Who knows? Who cares?
Next the block time can be put into question. Do we need faster confirmations? But this affects the reward schedule itself. And so on.
In the end we have inflationary paradise no more different than the bailout-plagued system of today.