McDonald's is just one example of a 2oth century phenomenon - the progessive takeover of the world's economy and the transformation of people's everyday lives by Transnational Corporations.
The fast food giant, because of its carefully and expensively manufactured public prominence, has become a symbol of an aggressive and continually expanding capitalism colonising all corner of the globe and ever more aspects of our society. McDonald's is a small part of the whole jigsaw but a symbol both for those who advocate such a system and for those who oppose and resist it.
But Nestle, PepsiCo and Coca Cola, Unilever, Shell Oil, BP and Exxon, ICI, Sony, General Motors, Murdoch's News International, IBM, Boeing, Dupont, Union Carbide and hundreds of other corporations and financial institutions like the World Bank have each carved out their spheres of domination and control over the world's resource. Together, backed by governmental institutions, they constitute a fabric of exploitation and oppression to benefit those few who live off the profits and control the levers of decision-making.
We all know the results - wage slavery, hunger, break up of the independence and self-sufficiency of local communities, abuse of resources, despoliation of the environoment and the suppression of people's genuine needs. But wherever there is oppression, there is dissatisfaction, criticism and resistance. Here we put the McSpotlight on other corporations, and also highlight those who stand up to them: some of the campaigns and struggles around the world. So although this site is primarily devoted to McDonald's, the issues raised can equally be applied to any of the other big corporations, or even to entire industries.