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CNBC Quizzes
Quiz: QUIZ: McDonald's
Question 2 of 5
According to economist Thomas Friedman, if two nations each have a McDonald's, what event will never occur between them?
- One nation will never boycott the other
- One nation will never sell weapons to the other
- They will never negotiate a trade agreement
- They will never go to war with each other
According to New York Times journalist Thomas Friedman, no nation that has a McDonald's will ever go to war with another that also has one. The underlying logic behind this theory actually makes sense. According to Friedman, when a country "has a middle class big enough to support a McDonald's, it becomes a McDonald's country, and people in McDonald's countries don't like to fight wars; they like to wait in line for burgers." This theory was first put forward in 1996, and it's held up. Israel and Egypt both have their own franchises, each complying with the respective dietary laws of its people, and they remain two nations living in peace to this day. But although India has its own franchise, it remains threatened by the McDonald's-free menace across its border, Pakistan.
SOURCE: Foreign Affairs Big Mac I | New York Times
