Schott had a short stint on a show on History Channel - I think it was "How It's Made". Similarly done, showing the 100 years of a family-run company. Is it glamorous? Maybe not. But I know my Grandpa who owned and worked every day of his life in a Seattle ship repair shop loved the work. Loved the grease, the dirt, the job, the people. This guy doesn't get it. I don't care. I do think there's a difference as I read the tech news every week on how BAD Chinese factories are. Similar to what we saw here, pre-union in the 1900's.The guy probably doesn't even own a leather jacket, or boots, or belt. That's my guess...
Your guess...like everything else you say, conjecture.
China is definitely not great, but 1900s? That's a joke. If your grandpa or father liked factory work, why can't Chinese like factory work and be good at it? Why do the Chinese factories have no souls, but the American tanneries are full of soul? I would not recommend working in a tannery for anyone---it is dirty and poor paying everywhere. And I think expanding from Tech news or whatever you read is a good idea. You don't even have a good sense of the history to be really discussing this.
Anyways, today most of the world's biggest ships are built in South Korea--you think they are in the 1900s too? They don't talk about South Korea is tech news?