Society will dictate who wins that war, and l am not part of society, just a reflection of what it was. But why build high quality swords when there are no battles to fight? The guitar will Not save the US economy. I have always chose Quality of Life over capitalism.
When l started playing live in 1970 there was no good gear. You got the job done with the tools you could get your hands on, whatever they were. And nobody judged you by the gear you had, only by how well you can play.
And that is the Chibson philosophy. People can't see through the illusion so they don't need the real thing. And it isn't a company killer because most Fenders and Gibsons don't say Made in USA anymore.
The problem l have is that if you are buying a new Gibson or Fender from an individual, you can no longer tell if it's real or not unless they say so. I saw a room full of fake Gibsons from China back before we left LA, and they were so good they could fool even me. The price for each was $250. But l was just curious. I don't need a name brand guitar to feed my ego, l would rather play a $20 used First Act and listen back to my recordings of me and it.
What most people don't understand is that 90% of your tone is in your neck, which is another way of saying your fingers. The other 10% is just that. When you make your amp 50% of your tone you are going the other direction. So there are a lot of things going on, pickups wood etc, but those never account for more than 10%. A Chibson is just a First Act with the word Gibson stamped on it. If the neck is solid, you will get 90% of your tone right there. The remaining 10% is just to bring that 90% to the surface and keep it there.
But the Gibson / Chibson war is one of pure economics, and in this world the thieves seem to be winning.