[badthingfactory]

I understand Redux, have used it many times and have read the source code. I don't understand the argument that it is "basically is the same thing as having a root component handle all your state".

It's that plus actions, reducers, dispatcher, middleware, and HoCs for connecting components to global state. So it's not basically the same thing at all.

[eropple]

Actions, the dispatcher, and reducers are effectively a few in/out functions around a thing stuffed into the React context when used by react-redux. You're way overstating things.