link McDonald’s and Neoliberalism

McDonald’s. That is what most people would say when asked to name an American fast-food chain off the top of their heads. McDonald’s is the biggest fast-food chain in the world, operating more than 38,000 locations in over 100 countries. McDonald’s has been a staple of fast-food restaurants for the last several decades, with their global prominence staying strong amongst all other competitors. McDonald’s and their success story is a prime example of what neoliberals believe could be achieved through neoliberalism in GPE. But with all the success comes a harsh reality regarding how they have managed to stay successful, as critics of neoliberalism often mention its drawbacks which often affect workers and the environment, with McDonald’s not being an exception to these facts.

Neoliberalism in a Global Political Economy Context

Proponents of neoliberalism in GPE often cite the numerous benefits of free trade and free market principles to justify neoliberalism as the most reasonable way to run a global economy. Neoliberalism can be a compelling approach to running a global economy, especially with governments having very limited legislative policies regarding intervention in private enterprises. Neoliberalism is very much focused on the growth of the economy and places methods such as profit maximization in the forefront in order to achieve its goals. This form of global economic growth is beneficial to the private sector, which then, in turn, uses this growth to produce more and create this ever going cycle of infinite growth in the global economy, which should, in theory, also benefit everyone as the growth from the private sector should trickle down to everyone else.

Cons of Neoliberalism 

Critics of neoliberalism are very often quick to point out that neoliberalism’s ultimate goal of growth and profit maximization jeopardizes others and doesn’t create a sustainable future for a global economy. Most complaints derive from the fact that in a neoliberal global economy, governments and institutions have very little control over environmental issues and workers’ rights created by the private sector. With a corporation’s desire to profit maximize its incentives to provide workers with decent wages, workable environments, and reduce their own environmental impact becomes nonexistent. This kind of prioritization by private corporations is often what critics cite as the beginning of the end, as unlivable working conditions and wages will eventually decrease demand and stop further growth, and a disregard for the environment will have massive ramifications in the future.

How McDonald’s is an Example of Neoliberalism In a Global Political Economy Context

After its rapid expansion in the United States, McDonald’s started to set its focus on the international market in the late ’60s and early ’70s, moving into countries with conditions similar to neoliberalism and began thriving. McDonald’s was able to fit their business model of profit maximization and promotion of free markets abroad and capture a whole new market, leading to further economic growth and higher profits for McDonald’s. McDonald’s was able to keep this business model by virtually entering any country that it deemed capable of operating in, with its criteria being how aligned was that country’s policies to a neoliberalist market. Ever since its prominence on the global stage, it has benefited massively from free trade agreements as it has been able to reduce production costs by decreasing raw materials prices thanks to free trade agreements. They have also successfully expanded and grown their enterprise to more than 38,000 locations worldwide, which in theory, is what neoliberalism is all about.

Golden Arches Theory of Conflict Prevention

Economist Thomas Friedman came up with the golden arches theory of conflict prevention in 1996, in which he wrote that two countries with a McDonald’s restaurant have never fought a war amongst themselves. Friedman backed up this claim by citing the common neoliberalist talking point of profit maximization and the lack of interest in jeopardizing that ideal by going to war and disrupting business amongst each other. Although this theory has been proven to not stand the test of time, with most recently the Russian-Ukrainian war, it still highlights the logic behind neoliberalist thought alongside their priorities. This theory uses McDonald’s as the ultimate example of neoliberalism and its existence on a global scale in order to promote the idea that neoliberalism can lead to peace and prosperity among states as any conflicts will be resolved in an effort to keep an interdependent economy strong and unaffected by factors such as war. 

This concept, of course, only talks about countries with neoliberalist approaches to their own economies. Still, this theory could be expanded on to a GPE context with the premise being that if all countries operated under the same neoliberalist, then military conflicts would become eradicated as countries would see the economic damage being too big of a deterrent actually to engage in war. Therefore, according to neoliberalists like Friedman, peace, and prosperity is a concept that becomes naturally formed as a result of neoliberalist ideals and goals. This theory, though, as mentioned earlier, does not always seem to take shape in reality with wars fought amongst countries with McDonald’s has happened before.

McDonald’s Similarities with Cons of Neoliberalism

As mentioned earlier, there is no shortage of cons noted by critics of neoliberalism in a GPE context, and with McDonald’s being seen as a product of neoliberalism, it is no surprise that many of the problems that arise with neoliberalism are problems that McDonald’s have been accused of creating. For instance, in an attempt to strive for the neoliberalist approach of profit maximization, McDonald’s has been consistently criticized worldwide for their poor wage and working conditions. McDonald’s has also been cited to be the largest purchaser of meat in the world, which affects the environment heavily as meat is a big emitter of methane which leads to environmental effects such as global warming. As Friedman pointed out, McDonald’s is the perfect example of an enterprise in a neoliberal GPE McDonald’s also brings with it all the cons that critics of neoliberalism point out when analyzing it.

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