Last year, a movement to officially nominate the Internet for the Nobel Peace Prize was launched by the Italian edition of Wired magazine. Personalities ranging from Nicholas Negroponte to Giorgio Armani, from Joi Ito to Nobel-laureate Shirin Ebadi joined the effort, and the nomination was accepted in Stockholm this past February.
The possibility that the Internet be awarded the Prize stirred quite a debate and, as is often the case, there are good arguments on both sides. The idea that we should recognize the role played by the Internet in connecting people and making them closer to each other is a persuasive one.
However, a powerful case can be argued against the proposal as well (e.g., see Evgeny Morozov over at the Foreign Policy Net Effect blog). One obvious reason is that the Prize is meant to award persons in flesh and blood, or at least organizations, not only because it should acknowledge discrete contributions, but also for merely practical issues. (In this regard, it has been proposed that the inventors of the Internet receive the Prize, but then again–one might contend–one award for Al Gore is more than enough.)
Secondly, there exist other technologies that would deserve the Prize even more: just think of the huge impact the mobile phone is having on the lives of people in the third world. Thirdly, the Internet is a tool, however powerful. Although it seems quite clear that its overall effect has been largely positive, this ultimately relies on the good intentions of its users.
An argument I don’t buy is that awarding the Internet might undermine the reputation of the Prize. Quite frankly, I don’t see how that would be possible, after some very controversial picks of recent years. One final concern, put forward by Morozov, is that the Prize might lead to favor technology over politics as a way to solve the world’s problems, and most notably to promote peace.
On the contrary, I tend to believe that this would be one of the greatest merits associated with giving the Internet a Nobel prize: to affirm the idea that the preservation of a peaceful social order is not to be left in the hands of politicians, but is much more dependent on us all: on line as well as in real life. The main social value of the Internet, I would contend, is its ability to disintermediate the political process. If a Nobel prize is what it takes to underline this fact, then so be it.
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