Bolstered by the illusion of autonomy, corporations squandered domestic resource supplies. When these reserves gave out, they went prospecting abroad rather than facing the less profitable paths of recycling or replacing materials. Only governmental intervention, at the request of the people, made alternative paths attractive. But as multinational corporations extended their reach, they became less subject to individual national governments and eventually even adverse to their meddlesome interference. At the same time, a frenzy of mergers created a class of state sanctioned monopolies that further weakened the legitimacy of the nation-state.
Products are now more than tangible items.
This infiltration didn't happen overnight. McWorld works by infecting its host slowly. Initially, local customs are celebrated even as they are distorted. As the disease progresses, local culture dissolves entirely and is replaced by a shiny, yet altogether empty, fantasy world. Soon Moscow resembles Tokyo resembles Madrid resembles New York.