The Fate of the Middleman

Sowell talks a lot about the middleman, and it strikes me what an interesting position so many of today's middlemen are. Excluding those who own Liquor stores or distribute garage-sale goods on Ebay (thank you!), many of them have been hired by large companies who pay them to be middlemen, but powerless middlemen.
Unlike the middlemen of yesteryear, the middlemen of today can not adjust prices by working long hours, they cannot, by diligence or intelligence, move either buyer or manufacturer. They are stuck in a middle position which simply explains the manufacturer or retailer to the buyer, and, very occasionally (very indeed) explains the retailer to the buyer. They are paid to keep us out of the hair of the people who are really our problem, and not given the power to solve our problems.
Thus: Don't get mad at the tech-support person in India. They're just trying to make a living, like you. Get mad at the CEO who decided he doesn't actually care about customer feedback.