It doesn't require you to commit to all of its features, that's certainly correct. But it does require you to commit to its principles; if you're needlessly passing naked pointers around, you're really writing C code with a C++ compiler.
I don’t see how it requires you to commit to any principles, if you can avoid those you don’t need and still successfully compile. That’s called “suggests” or “allows”, not “requires”. Yes, some people are writing C code with classes and strings in C++. That’s why we call this mode “C with classes and strings”. I believe that you are attached to these principles (see their benefits), and that is fine. But not everybody likes full-on C++.
