You sir, and everyone that shares this opinion, is an asshat.
Funny enough, I don't blame you for having this opinion, though. Too many failures from too many people who didn't know how to run a business properly gave many people this impression. But it's wrong.
I can write a huge tl;dr post on what value networks bring, but I have the feeling you'd just ignore it anyway.
I can tell you this, from direct experience, you'd get fucked WAY more often with direct relationships, than you do with networks run by amateurs.
This.
There is a gigantic difference between a real CPA network and the shitpile that was EWA.
Really, if your world was rocked by the collapse of EWA then you're a worthless peasant anyway.