I see your point. Essentially, you get a fast computer for contemporary, real world use, for the same price as 10 years ago.

Though if you ignore the specs, the M2 air (for 1500 so you get the same storage space), is probably equivalent – 8GB unified RAM and fast SSD seems equivalent to 16GB ram from decade ago.

Together with the improved software capabilities, I think the overall "experience" is "better" and you get more bang for buck.