> we lack is an easy path to freedom through self employment - if you want self-employment as a programmer you need the fortune of a novel idea [etc]

See the many software and other computing people who successfully run under a consultant / contractor model. You can absolutely be self employed. Good service at a proper rate (and pretty high too, usually.) Self employed and high percentage remote if you want it.

I would argue it is far more nebulous a process to become a software contractor and far stiffer national or global competition for the contracts.

Whereas a tradesman is more naturally limited in their local competition and the work fare more obvious and standard. Service work, new build installations. It’s almost as if the trade itself conveys a kind of franchise like quality to it.