No this is what most of their supporters genuinely believe. They think people working in a factory generate more real economic value than people working in offices.
Yep. There are strong Cultural Revolution vibes coming from that direction.
That would explain the initiative to create a list of people on the spectrum.
Enough people believed it and voted for it such that they won the election.
And many more people were completely fine with the status quo ante, so they abstained from voting entirely.