@JorgeStolfi @dymaxion @whknott
The foundations of set theory are a mess? This is news to me.
There have always been mathematicians interested in pipe dreams like universal axioms or more minimal sets of axioms. But if you need to get things done you *can* ... you just need to be honest about what you are assuming, and it might not be as minimal as some want.
Different assumptions create different mathematics that have their own uses.
Maybe I'm not understanding what you are saying.