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| | The '''Nobel Prize''' is a politicized award that is criticized for increasing evidence of bias and possibly even corruption. It has been ostensibly given for achievements in [[physics]], [[chemistry]], [[medicine]] or [[physiology]], [[literature]], and [[peace]]. Named in honor of [[Alfred Nobel]], the first prize was granted in 1901. The award for [[economics]], the "Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel," was added as a prize in 1969.<ref name="NobelHistory">The Nobel Foundation: [http://nobelprize.org/nobelfoundation/history/lemmel/index.html History]</ref> | | The '''Nobel Prize''' is a politicized award that is criticized for increasing evidence of bias and possibly even corruption. It has been ostensibly given for achievements in [[physics]], [[chemistry]], [[medicine]] or [[physiology]], [[literature]], and [[peace]]. Named in honor of [[Alfred Nobel]], the first prize was granted in 1901. The award for [[economics]], the "Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel," was added as a prize in 1969.<ref name="NobelHistory">The Nobel Foundation: [http://nobelprize.org/nobelfoundation/history/lemmel/index.html History]</ref> |
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| − | As an unwritten rule, the award is not given to a [[conservative]] (such as [[Ronald Reagan]] or [[Pope John Paul II]]), and it is not given to anyone who challenges the scientific establishment on the issues of the [[theory of evolution]] or [[theory of relativity]]. On several occasions the award has been granted in way to embarrass someone disfavored by honoring a less deserving person for the achievement. | + | As an unwritten rule, the award is not given to a [[conservative]] (such as [[Ronald Reagan]] or [[Pope John Paul II]]), and it is not given to anyone who challenges the scientific establishment on the issues of the [[theory of evolution]] or [[theory of relativity]]. On several occasions the award has been granted in way to insult someone disfavored by honoring a less deserving person for the achievement. Often the award is given as a reward to a liberal politician or diplomat. Most recently the award has been the subject of an investigation for corruption. |
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| | ==Nomination and Selection== | | ==Nomination and Selection== |
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| | The Nobel Prizes are represented externally by the Nobel Foundation, a private institution entrusted with protecting the common interests of the Prize Awarding Institutions. However, the Nobel Foundation is not involved with the selection process itself. The Prize-Awarding Institutes are independent of government agencies and the Nobel Foundation itself.<ref name="NobelHistory"/> The multiple Prize-Awarding Institutes are all located in [[Scandinavia]], the homeland of Alfred Nobel (a larger country at the time of prizes' founding, but which has since split). | | The Nobel Prizes are represented externally by the Nobel Foundation, a private institution entrusted with protecting the common interests of the Prize Awarding Institutions. However, the Nobel Foundation is not involved with the selection process itself. The Prize-Awarding Institutes are independent of government agencies and the Nobel Foundation itself.<ref name="NobelHistory"/> The multiple Prize-Awarding Institutes are all located in [[Scandinavia]], the homeland of Alfred Nobel (a larger country at the time of prizes' founding, but which has since split). |
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| − | == Omissions == | + | == Bias Against Conservative or Nationalist Achievers == |
| − | Over the years, there have been cases in which some people felt that a person should have received a Nobel Prize for his or her work.
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| − | ===Mahatma Gandhi=== | + | == [[Ronald Reagan]] == |
| − | Possibly the most well-known case had been [[Mahatma Gandhi]], who had been nominated 12 times for the Nobel Peace Prize without success.<ref name="NobelNomination"/> The Nobel Foundation has an information page detailing his nominations and the potential reasons for his lack of success.<ref>The Nobel Foundation: [http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/articles/gandhi/index.html Mahatma Gandhi, the Missing Laureate]</ref> Among other things, these statements can be found on the page:
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| | + | [[Ronald Reagan]] is widely credited for causing the peaceful elimination of the [[Berlin Wall]] and the end of communist control over Eastern Europe. He lived for more than a decade after his achievement, yet Nobel Peace Prize was repeatedly given to liberal figures who accomplished far less, including even the person Reagan defeated, [[Jimmy Carter]]. |
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| | + | == [[Pope John Paul II]] == |
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| | + | Frequently the Nobel Peace Prize is given to non-Christian or liberal Christian religious leaders, but it refused to honor [[Pope John Paul II]] for pivotal role in liberating his native [[Poland]] from [[communist]] control. |
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| | + | == [[Mahatma Gandhi]] == |
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| | + | [[Mahatma Gandhi]] was a nationalist opposed to international law and a form of globalism, which the people controlling the Nobel Prize oppose. Gandhi was nominated 12 times for the Nobel Peace Prize but never granted it.<ref name="NobelNomination"/> The Nobel Foundation has an information page detailing his nominations and the potential reasons for his lack of success.<ref>The Nobel Foundation: [http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/articles/gandhi/index.html Mahatma Gandhi, the Missing Laureate]</ref> Among other things, these statements can be found on the page: |
| | {{QuoteBox|The omission has been publicly regretted by later members of the Nobel Committee; when the Dalai Lama was awarded the Peace Prize in 1989, the chairman of the committee said that this was "in part a tribute to the memory of Mahatma Gandhi".}} | | {{QuoteBox|The omission has been publicly regretted by later members of the Nobel Committee; when the Dalai Lama was awarded the Peace Prize in 1989, the chairman of the committee said that this was "in part a tribute to the memory of Mahatma Gandhi".}} |
| | {{QuoteBox|Up to 1960, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded almost exclusively to Europeans and Americans. In retrospect, the horizon of the Norwegian Nobel Committee may seem too narrow. Gandhi was very different from earlier Laureates. He was no real politician or proponent of international law, not primarily a humanitarian relief worker and not an organiser of international peace congresses. He would have belonged to a new breed of Laureates.}} | | {{QuoteBox|Up to 1960, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded almost exclusively to Europeans and Americans. In retrospect, the horizon of the Norwegian Nobel Committee may seem too narrow. Gandhi was very different from earlier Laureates. He was no real politician or proponent of international law, not primarily a humanitarian relief worker and not an organiser of international peace congresses. He would have belonged to a new breed of Laureates.}} |