McDonald's is the great equalizer. Wherever you go in the world it tastes exactly the same. The same beef, the same cheese, the same shredded lettuce and the same gooey sauce that leaks out the side.
But who would have known that McDonald's offers a space for the exercise of freedom for women in China, that 100 percent of Chinese women interviewed for one study would prefer eating at McDonald's than at a traditional Chinese restaurant if there were only two places to eat left in the world?
Such are the insights in "The Consumer Revolution in Urban China," a compilation of essays by 13 academic sojourners seeking to probe the complexities involved in China's development as a mixed economy.