Golden Arches Replaced by Dell Theory

Thomas Friedman has written previously about the Golden Arches Theory of Conflict Prevention. He had observed that no two countries with McDonald's had ever fought against each other. This theory held up pretty well but now almost every country has a McDonald's the theory needs to be updated for the flat world. However, Tom has come up with a revision ... I offer the Dell Theory of Conflict Prevention, the essence of which is that the advent and spread of just-in-time global supply chains in the flat world are an even greater restraint on geopolitical adventurism than the more general rising standard of living that McDonald's symbolized. The Dell Theory stipulates: No two countries that are both part of a major global supply chain, like Dell's will ever fight a war against each other as long as they are both part of the same global supply chain. Because people embedded in major global supply chains don't want to fight old-time wars anymore. They want to make just-in-time deliveries of goods and services --- and enjoy the rising standards of living that come with that. From The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman