There are more binding constraints on a small island economy than on a large economy, which gets back to the tacit premises of the "Iceland is too 'Western' to fall prey" argument, which is that if Iceland puts up a determined resistance, it will find a sympathetic hearing in countries that are large enough economically that a transnational has to take their concerns seriously.


I've been accused of being a Marxist, yet while Harpo's my favourite, it's Groucho I'm always quoting. Odd, that.