All of the amendments were written with 18th century issues in mind, and have to be interpreted by each generation with regard to the issues of the day.
The 5th was relevant up through McCarthyism, at the very least, and I don't think that future witch hunts are out of the question - there is an effort to rehabilitate McCarthy's reputation. Just because McCarthy often managed to work around, and sometimes ignored the 5th doesn't mean its worthless.
We don't torture confessions Spanish-Inquisition-style anymore, but police routinely go as far as they can under the 5th amendment, so I certainly wouldn't want to make "as far as they can" to be further.
"Pleading the fifth" is just the "right to remain silent" when actually in court, rather than during police interrogation.
Also, would we really want to open every defendant to perjury charges if the jury doesn't believe their alibi? From wikipedia again:
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The Supreme Court has held that "a witness may have a reasonable fear of prosecution and yet be innocent of any wrongdoing. The privilege serves to protect the innocent who otherwise might be ensnared by ambiguous circumstances."
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