The hidden cost to competing in these industries is insane. Its so hard to build a physical product that can compete against a giant like IKEA. You need to make some with less r&d, less automation, less infrastructure and you're going to sell less units and all that needs to be price competitive against something that is made on an production line with a team of experienced engineers and sold to millions at fine margins.

> Something fundamental is wrong with the economy.

Economies of scale make it so that your home made furniture will still be more expensive than ikea. Same for the Coca Cola example.

For tractor parts, you would still need to make sure they don't break and work within small tolerances.

> It's easier than ever to publish a video game. Steam is bigger than ever.

In this case: these statements aren't contradictory, they're complementary. It's easy to publish a game on Steam, where the audience are and the money is. It's also easy to publish on itch.io where no money is.