Comment by Melatonic

Im not sure your assumption holds at all. If anything the ikea chair could argued to be a very efficient use of resources producing a minimally useful chair. But why is it less likely to wobble ?

In addition the incentives are misaligned - the "artisan" made chair (in the past) wasn't likely made for aesthetic reasons - it was made to last long term and function. And if it wobbled or had any problems the original woodworker was probably around to fix it.