Observing the conversation, I rest in the conclusion that what is really important is that individuals find the setup that works for their situation and their preferences.

There are a lot of things being brought up that are entirely subjective -matters of preference and opinion. Those are important, you need to follow your preferences to be effective (Don't try to fit into someone else's box)

There are a lot of things brought up that are situational -matters such as material being worked with (rough hewn or sawed, planed, dimensioned, etc) size of the operation etc.

Then there are a lot of thing being brought up that have more to do with the philosophy of the business in question -size of the shop, production rate, etc.

My logical mind wants to come up with a sort of equation to describe how these all fit together. From that standpoint I see a curve with small shops on one end, where a lot of power tools are not going to be cost effective, to big shops that run at high production and high volume where hand tool methods are not efficient.

Yes, if you go one-on-one, you can probably beat a power tool with hand tools. The strength I see in power tools is the ability to get things set up and churn out a LOT of things at once. The Shops I've visited in Switzerland, that's how they work. They set up to cut all their tenons, or to at least cut a whole lot of them at once. They set and spend all day just cutting mortises, etc.

I realize a lot of us (myself included) simply don't want to be in that position. I'm a big fan of efficiency, but I'm also a fan of the process. Again, that is romanticism if we use the literal definition of the word. And that's not an insult at all (the word is sadly so badly misused so often today). People like Dave and Time take an obviously Romantic (think in the sense of idealism, not foolish love) approach -they WANT to stay in the situation that favors hand tools and hand methods, and have successfully done so. They are pursuing a specific ideal.

Others take a more 'practical' approach, where they are more concerned with volume, time, and efficiency.

So going back to the original topic,

I have observed in my travels that Americans tend to have a more Romantic or Idealistic approach to things (think of the popularity of rustic furniture or houses, old industrial styles and decorations, etc. These are all built on a certain idealism). That doesn't mean we are the only people in the world that do it, but it does seem to be a bit more common here.

I also think the lack of a true guild structure (the TFG not being a factual guild in the sense of the old European guilds) affects things. In Europe you see the trades more or less controlled by the guilds, and they govern how businesses operate. In America that system does not exist, making it easier for people to arrive at their own interpretation of the craft.