By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 15/10/2026There is nothing wrong with the idea of an intermediary. Most writers can't publish and sell their own books, and few travelers can navigate finding hotels in strange cities without help. 1652
By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 15/10/2026The problem of intermediaries is that when intermediaries gain monopoly power - by buying their rivals and capturing buyers and sellers - they are able to squeeze both. 19314
By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 15/10/2026As Tim Wu says, this is the moment when a company that's supposed to be helping becomes a predator, acquires "main character syndrome" and makes every transaction all about the middleman, at the expense of the people buying and selling: pluralistic.net/2026/08/05/a...pluralistic.netPluralistic: Google is a scammer’s paradise (05 Aug 2026) – Pluralistic: Daily links from Cory Doctorow 1869
