Re: Python, eh?
The problem isn't the language but the distribution mechanism, potentially you could get similar issues with R (cran), perl (cpan) or even TeX (ctan) (and doubtless many others), it's only less likely because they don't have such a high profile as Python. For me the only sensible solution is never to allow anything to automatically install dependencies other than the official OS repository, especially on production machines. The more automatic things are made the more they are likely automatically to go wrong.
There was a very good series discussing this, and related matters, on LWN last year (https://lwn.net/Articles/924104/) with a brief follow up here: https://lwn.net/Articles/959236/