No Two Countries with McDonald's Have Ever Gone to War!

[alcibiades_mystery]

McDonald's Moscow, Russia


McDonald's Tbilisi, Georgia

Another capitalist pretension falls by the wayside...

[Starbucks Anarchist]

1. In Soviet Russia, McDonald's Super-Sizes YOU!

[mediaman007]

2. Is there a source?

[Journeyman]

4. Google's your friend. . .

http://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=o+T...


In his book, The Lexus and the Olive Tree, Thomas L. Friedman proposed "The Golden Arches Theory of Conflict Prevention," observing that no two countries with a McDonald's franchise had ever gone to war with one another, a version of the democratic peace theory. Shortly after the book was published, the NATO bombing of Serbia proved the theory wrong, though in a later edition Friedman argued that this exception proved the rule: the war ended quickly, he argued, partly because the Serbian population did not want to lose their place in a global system "symbolised by McDonald's" (Friedman 2000: 252–253). It should be noted that Friedman framed this theory in terms of McDonald's Golden Arches "with tongue slightly in cheek" (Friedman 2005). Recently, Friedman has updated the theory with the Dell Theory of Conflict Prevention (Friedman 2005). In 2006 McDonald's hosting nations Israel and Lebanon were involved in a war which could also be considered evidence against the Golden Arches theory.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_Arches

[itsrobert]

3. I doubt that's true

What's your source?

[Journeyman]

6. It's a "theory" Thomas Friedman proposed. . .

more information here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[depakid]

9. Like father, like son

at least the father had some brains (if utterly lacking in common sense).

[alcibiades_mystery]

10. You're not suggesting that Thomas Friedman is Milton Friedman's son, are you?

Because he's not.

[depakid]

11. You're right- my mistake

I guess the policies were similar enough, that it was easy to get confused (or trust what one reads on the internet).

Thanks for the correction.

[alcibiades_mystery]

15. He's definitely spawn, if not family

[Crunchy Frog]

16. Secret love child?

[Gidney N Cloyd]

5. That theory was always a Kroc. nt

[alcibiades_mystery]

7. Of course it was

Just sayin'...

[Journeyman]

17. Thanks -- I love puns, and that's a great one. . .

[Blue-Jay]

8. That second one is friggin cool.

[Bill McBlueState]

12. Hah, hah, hah, eat shit, Thomas Friedman.

Or better yet, have a Big Mac.

nice catch, OP.

[Clear Blue Sky]

13. I remember that from his book.

A cute approximation, but with exceptions.

To borrow Friedman's terminology, with the "flattening of the earth", his McDonalds theory doesn't fly any more.

[Codeine]

14. Y'know, I can't stand McDonald's

but the one in Tblisi is really nice-looking.