The problem is - and I'm not saying this lightly - that many people don't actually know how to use hand tools properly and would not be able to - for instance - make a straight and perpendicular cut in a sheet of plywood using a handsaw.

In those cases the circular saw has a better chance of delivering the goods. Of course it can also be a shortcut to the ER...

Saw, set of chisels, tape measure, good clawhammer, drillpress, drills, white glue, good set of screwdrivers.

Then some time and materials to bootstrap your way into making clamps, a workbench, miter box and so on and before you know it you have a working woodshop for relatively little money.