ABSTRACT
What defines the limits beyond which something becomes so absurd that you don’t know whether to cry or laugh? The 2007 Business Congress, organized by the Icelandic Chamber of Commerce, begs the question. Called “Iceland: The Best in the World?”, the congress brought together prominent business people, the prime minister and other leading politicians, all presumably engaging one way or another with the theme of the congress. The title may have been meant to be humorous, yet the question mark indicates that it was a real consideration to be discussed and taken seriously. Furthermore, the previous year, the same Icelandic Chamber of Commerce stated in their vision for the Iceland of 2015 that “Iceland [should] stop comparing itself to the Nordic countries, because after all we are superior to them in most respects”1 (Icelandic Chamber of Commerce 2006, 22).
