Direct: The Rise of the Middleman Economy and the Power of Going to the Source
- Downloads：9120
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-08-11 06:51:57
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Kathryn Judge
- ISBN：0063041979
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
Finance expert， law professor， and fellow overwhelmed consumer Kathryn Judge investigates the surprising ways that middlemen have taken control of the economy at the expense of the rest of us， and provides practical guidance about how to regain control， find more meaning， and contribute to a more sustainable economy。
Over the past thirty years， middlemen have built intricate financial and retail empires capable of moving goods across the country and around the world--transforming the economy and our lives。 Because of middlemen， we enjoy an unprecedented degree of choice and convenience。 But the rise of the middleman economy comes at a steep price。
In Direct， Columbia law professor Kathryn Judge shows how overgrown middlemen became the backbone of modern capitalism and the cause of many of its ailments。 Middlemen today shape what people do， how they invest， and what they consume。 They use their troves of data to push people to buy more， and more expensive， products。 They use their massive profits and expertise to lobby lawmakers， tilting the playing field in their favor。 Drawing on a decade of research， Judge shows how to fight back: Go to the source。
The process of direct exchange--and the resulting ecosystem of makers and consumers， investors and entrepreneurs--fosters connection and community and helps promote a more just， resilient， and accountable economic system。 Direct exchange reminds us that our actions always and inevitably impact others， as it rekindles an appreciation of our inherent interconnectedness。 As Judge reveals in this much-needed book， direct exchange is both the cornerstone of the solution and a tool for revealing just how much is at stake in decisions about "through whom" to buy， invest and give。
Over the past thirty years， middlemen have built intricate financial and retail empires capable of moving goods across the country and around the world--transforming the economy and our lives。 Because of middlemen， we enjoy an unprecedented degree of choice and convenience。 But the rise of the middleman economy comes at a steep price。
In Direct， Columbia law professor Kathryn Judge shows how overgrown middlemen became the backbone of modern capitalism and the cause of many of its ailments。 Middlemen today shape what people do， how they invest， and what they consume。 They use their troves of data to push people to buy more， and more expensive， products。 They use their massive profits and expertise to lobby lawmakers， tilting the playing field in their favor。 Drawing on a decade of research， Judge shows how to fight back: Go to the source。
The process of direct exchange--and the resulting ecosystem of makers and consumers， investors and entrepreneurs--fosters connection and community and helps promote a more just， resilient， and accountable economic system。 Direct exchange reminds us that our actions always and inevitably impact others， as it rekindles an appreciation of our inherent interconnectedness。 As Judge reveals in this much-needed book， direct exchange is both the cornerstone of the solution and a tool for revealing just how much is at stake in decisions about "through whom" to buy， invest and give。
Reviews
Chris Boutté
，
This is a really good and much-needed book。 I randomly came across Kathryn Judge’s book on Twitter and was instantly curious。 As someone who does a few different entrepreneurial ventures and sells online， I’ve been curious about the “middleman economy”。 While more people are getting connected via different platforms like eBay， Etsy and others， there are high fees， and sometimes they’re out of control。 In Judge’s book， she goes much further than simply discussing these online platforms。Judge brou This is a really good and much-needed book。 I randomly came across Kathryn Judge’s book on Twitter and was instantly curious。 As someone who does a few different entrepreneurial ventures and sells online， I’ve been curious about the “middleman economy”。 While more people are getting connected via different platforms like eBay， Etsy and others， there are high fees， and sometimes they’re out of control。 In Judge’s book， she goes much further than simply discussing these online platforms。Judge brought to my attention the health and safety issues that come along with the middleman economy。 I didn’t think much about it， but rarely do we know where our food even comes from。 I think about how we often don’t know if our clothes and products are ethically sourced， but the author comes out the gate with a terrifying story about someone having an allergic reaction because food supplied by a middleman wasn’t labeled properly。This book covers so much， and I rarely hear anyone discussing this， so I’m really glad Kathryn Judge is bringing some attention to these issues and challenges。 Best of all， she has a ton of ideas for solutions。 I really hope a ton of people read this book just so we can all start thinking a bit more about how the middleman economy is affecting all of us。 。。。more
Vincent Van Wylick
，
The book highlights many important problems to solve about intermediation in value chains， but fails to really suggest systematic resolutions to them。 I admire direct business models， but for global reach they will always rely on part to “facilitators” or “extensions” to make that happen。 Question is do they all need global reach， which is probably not the case。
Steve Nolan
，
Have done a decent amount of reading about monopolists and their impact on the current state of the world， but never really about middlemen。 Similar impact！ The stat that most people would give up sex for a year before Amazon was。。。memorable。
Kathleen Rice
，
Judge takes a complex topic and makes it understandable and intimate。 She demonstrates how our daily choices have individual and collective consequences， both good， and bad。 Judge lays a framework not only for acknowledging and addressing the role of the middleman， but one that could apply to multiple challenges our our time。
David Dayen
，
An unexpectedly personal look at the rise of intermediation in our commerce， and the value—almost the spiritual value—of direct exchange。 Interesting takeaways about how the middleman economy has wide-ranging effects that go beyond price and resiliency， and how finding sources directly can be fulfilling in multiple ways。
Marks54
，
This is a new book about the pitfalls of living within the “Middleman” economy and what we can do as individuals to moderate some of the darker elements of too great a dependence on the super big box benefits of the large firms that have come to dominate different sectors of the economy。 The author is a law professor at Columbia who is highly skilled at financial analysis。 When I started the book I was concerned that a large load of specialized financial and legal analysis was headed my way。 I d This is a new book about the pitfalls of living within the “Middleman” economy and what we can do as individuals to moderate some of the darker elements of too great a dependence on the super big box benefits of the large firms that have come to dominate different sectors of the economy。 The author is a law professor at Columbia who is highly skilled at financial analysis。 When I started the book I was concerned that a large load of specialized financial and legal analysis was headed my way。 I do not mind that but it slows you down in working through the details。 Someone may have pointed this out to Professor Judge but however she did it， the book is a really nice exposition of a complex problem that seems fair in its treatment but also readable and engaging in what to do about it。So what is the problem？ This is a critique of hyper-capitalism in the 21st century that combines super-massive scale and scope with extended global supply chains。 Think about Wal-Mart， Amazon， and Costco。 While you are at it， think about the global giants of finance such as Citigroup， Goldman Sachs， and J。P。 Morgan。 These giants are highly successful and providing more and more goods and services to more and more people and as a result have become the most highly valued firms in the world by a large margin。 What’s so bad about that？ Well， nothing but along with this exceptional performance has come a number of additional problems and issues that have changed our society and imposed a large set of costs on those less fortunate， such as the millions who work for these firms， the millions who work for them globally in the supply chain， and the thousands of smaller local businesses that have gone out of business or suffered as the giants have grown and prospered。If you follow general critiques of global capitalism or political economy， none of this is new， but Professor Judge tells the story well and updates， including details of how COIVD-19 has affected the mix - a continuing story at present。 She masks her erudition well and must be a fine teacher。 The message is more reasonable than is generally the case in these sorts of book。 While we cannot get away from Wal-Mart or Amazon， we should be aware of the issues and look for alternatives so that we at least appreciate how the economy is being transformed。So what to do about it？ That is where the title of the book comes in。 When possible， consumers should look into and make use of more direct connections with producers and shy away from the longer global indirect supply chains when there are better alternatives available。 If we do this and patronize alternative to market transactions in long abstracted supply chains， we will be doing our bit to mitigate the more dehumanizing aspects of global capitalism。 Early on， she discussed community support agriculture （CSA）。 This is a good example of her direction and her discussion is informative and even surprising。 We buy from a local CSA and she helped me put it into context of the broader economy。 Other lines of approach are raised as well， especially different “Direct to Consumer” options in different areas。 These are all activities that people have heard of but the book helps to place them in a large context。 Her general recommendations for following up and looking for more direct options are reasonable and even practical。This is an interesting and engaging book that is well worth reading。 。。。more
Alexandra Carter
，
This gripping book simultaneously manages to take both a 10，000 foot view of our economy and bring it to the level of the individual， overwhelmed consumer （that's me！）。 From the opening pages， where Judge relates the details of her infant daughter's heart condition - and the surprising "middleman" who helped her connect with other parents - to the ending， which contains five principles to help consumers， business leaders， and entrepreneurs contribute to a more sustainable economic system， this b This gripping book simultaneously manages to take both a 10，000 foot view of our economy and bring it to the level of the individual， overwhelmed consumer （that's me！）。 From the opening pages， where Judge relates the details of her infant daughter's heart condition - and the surprising "middleman" who helped her connect with other parents - to the ending， which contains five principles to help consumers， business leaders， and entrepreneurs contribute to a more sustainable economic system， this book is a must-read！ 。。。more
Kevin
，