Maybe this shows the value of packaging? What Arduino offered wasn't just a bunch of commodity chips, but a guided educational experience. The same way that Lego Mindstorms is more approachable than a tub of plastic powder and some copper wire, having someone do the design, sourcing, integration, testing, documentation, etc. is worth a lot.

I wouldn't even know where to start with a pile of undifferentiated chips. Arduino lets you spend a bit of money (relatively cheap when it comes to hobbies) to learn the ropes from vetted and curated parts that are made to work together, including the software.

At some point, yes, maybe you know enough to be able to evaluate the Chinese knockoffs on your own and avoid pitfalls and counterfeits, and find the correct vendors who offer an awesome product at a good price. But it takes a while to get there. I can hardly find reliable power stations and USB PD chargers these days. I wouldn't even know how to start to evaluate an entire dev kit.

If anything it seems like this is the fate of intellectual property in the age of global capitalism. Whatever we design, whether it's software or chips or fighter jets or solar panels or cars will be copied and produced much more cheaply there because their costs of everything is much lower. And actually, relative to most of the world population, it's probably the USA that is overpriced. We have our insane quality of life to keep up with.

But that's hardly the fault of any one company. As we move more and more into services, domestic manufacturing just can't keep pace. All those reshoring efforts don't really seem to be making an impact. Most things I see are still Chinese, especially at the price points I can afford.

I don't know that "killing the openness" is the inevitable result. Closed designs get stolen and copied too. Getting bought out and eaten alive by Chinese companies the same way Hollywood and video gaming have been going seems the more likely route?