I remember reading somewhere a passage that asserted that not adhering to guilds was exactly why the United States came to lead in the steel industry.

I guess you could say the same of China today. ;-) The main beneficiaries are not the poor old farm boys who go without safety gear and training so that Mr Carnegie can get a bit richer.

Not that I'm advocating fierce unionized attacks on owner profits: IMHO there has to be a balance that rewards workers fairly while delivering an attractive rate of return for whatever investment underpins the business. And sometimes when things get tough, both sides may need to give a little. We seem to have forgetten that, as evidenced by firms going out of business because of worker demands or bosses expecting to be paid mega-millions while workers get laid off.