“Though our modern commercial economy yearns to give us everything, there is something deeply frustrating about this system. Simon Johnson, coauthor of Jump-Starting America and former chief economist at the International Monetary Fund Essential reading for anyone who cares about the future of good jobs and the world we leave for our children.” We need to understand when and how more direct connections work - and move our lives, our businesses, and our public policy in that direction.
Middlemen have become too big, too pervasive, and too powerful. In this brilliant contribution, Judge turns the established notion of 'progress' on its head. “For more than two hundred years, modernity was thought to involve the transition from gifts and personal ties to a world dominated by impersonal markets and efficient transactions. Brad Stone, author of Amazon Unbound and The Everything Store If shopping at Walmart or Amazon has started to feel dangerously soulless, you must read this book.” It’s a clarion call for the simple pleasure of conducting direct exchanges with makers who pour their hearts into sustainable products. “In Direct, Judge gives us a rich, revealing chronicle of how corporate behemoths and bad public policy have put too much distance between farm and table, manufacturer and shopper - all while inciting consumer gluttony and pillaging the environment. 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. Direct exchange reminds us that our actions always and inevitably impact others, as it rekindles an appreciation of our inherent interconnectedness. 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.
Middleman or middle man how to#
Drawing on a decade of research, Judge shows how to fight back: Go to the source. They use their massive profits and expertise to lobby lawmakers, tilting the playing field in their favor. They use their troves of data to push people to buy more, and more expensive, products.
Middlemen today shape what people do, how they invest, and what they consume. 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. But the rise of the middleman economy comes at a steep price. Because of middlemen, we enjoy an unprecedented degree of choice and convenience. 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.
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.
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