Tool quality has definitely improved over time, but... and this is a big but... many people buy lower quality tools now than were available previously because of their low cost. I would put any of my Japanese or German/Czech hand tools up against any of the big brands of the past (many of which I also own thanks to yard/garage sales) and say they're better, not just from an ergonomics and design perspective but from an actual strength/reliability perspective. Most people, at least in the US, though are only familiar with low-quality China/Taiwan made tools which have lower quality metals and a lot of plastic content when it comes to hand tools.

If you invest a bit of effort into finding good hand tools, the options are much better these days but you have to be willing to pay.