I think smart pointers have been left out of C++ for a far too long time. It's not even included in the current C++ standard (well, auto_ptr is).
Some techniques such a high-level programming is just becoming possible with all the new tools we're getting available right now.
It may be a lot of work to make a generic design, but it's pretty high level.

Oh, and to GC :|
I hate those things. They disgust me. Thankfully C++ doesn't have one (by default)...