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As I have pointed out to this sophisticated audience before, no less a personality than V.I. Lenin said that capital's continuing need to generate returns would result in global imperialism. He never wrote much about the cultural effect, but it's probably just as significant as the economic effect. Just like the proliferation of chain restaurants after WWII (some of you may remember that this was a war in which the United States and Russia liberated Europe from the Nazis and then contributed the capital to rebuild both victor and loser), which was an offshoot of the "Holiday Inn" phenomenon, in which travelers seeking a consistent product eschewed local motels in favor of chains, US franchises have gradually expanded around the world.

Do you give no credit to the indigenous cultures around the world for having the maturity to make a CHOICE about what they eat and what movies they watch?

Do you take the position that it is MORALLY WRONG for US companies to serve up movies and fast food, even though these have been shown to contribute to softness of intellect and body with protrated use? Should we exercise RESTRAINT to avoid corrupting the rest of the world with our high-carbohydrate, low nutrititional and educational content lifestyle?

Should PEOPLE magazine be ILLEGAL, because people cannot excersise the DISCRETION to avoid reading it and becoming superficially obsessed with the personal hygiene habits of Hollywood glitterati?

Why does it BURN your ARSE so much?

All socratic method aside, the objection here is EXACTLY the same as elsewhere in the US political landscape, and it's simply this: people are unwilling to take responsibility for what goes into their bodies and minds, and once corrupted, seek to use the US tort system to recover for their self-imposed injuries. And do you know what? Every tort recovery is a liquidation of something the individual has lost, that they are NEVER going to get back! Tort settlements are not like winning the LOTTERY, they are designed to compensate the VICTIM and punish the tort-feasor. Ask somebody who has a stroke caused by hardening of the arteries brought on by continuous consumption of Le Big Mac whether they would rather have $1mm from McD's or their neuro function back, see what they say!

It is the worst kind of paternalistic outlook that suggests that people, whether in the USA or elsewhere, lack the ability to decide what is right and what is wrong for them. And yes, I say the same thing about the possession of recreational marijuana and automatic weapons.

Having said that, has anybody seen "super-size me" yet?