Statement–Assumption — “If you are a middleman, the Internet’s cheaper prices and faster services can dis-intermediate you.” Assumptions: I. Middlemen are usually a hindrance to an efficient economy. II. Middlemen’s role is to intermediate transactions between producers and consumers.

Introduction / Context:
The claim is that the Internet can remove (“dis-intermediate”) the middleman by enabling direct, cheaper, and faster interactions. We must separate the functional premise from any value judgment.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• Middlemen exist to bridge producers and consumers (logistics, search, aggregation, trust).
• Digital channels can replicate/reconfigure those functions.

Concept / Approach:
An implicit assumption must be necessary for the claim to make sense. The statement needs the role definition of a middleman, not an evaluation that middlemen are “hindrances.”

Step-by-Step Solution:
1) Assumption I: Whether middlemen are “hindrances” is irrelevant; even helpful intermediaries can be bypassed if technology substitutes their functions. I is not necessary.2) Assumption II: If middlemen did not intermediate transactions, there would be nothing for the Internet to bypass. Thus II is necessary.

Verification / Alternative check:
Platforms often reduce search and transaction costs, enabling direct producer–consumer matches without normative judgment about middlemen.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:
I-only/Either/Neither/Both either inject a needless value claim or omit the essential role premise.

Common Pitfalls:
Confusing a technological possibility (bypass) with an opinion that intermediaries are “bad.”

Final Answer:
if only assumption II is implicit.