Statement by Nobel Laureates on the occasion of the one-hundredth anniversary of the Nobel Prize
December 11, 2001

Introduction

110 Nobel Prize Winners Look Ahead
On the 100th Anniversary of the Nobel Prize.

Dateline Stockholm; December 11, 2001

The attached Statement was released as 150 Nobel Laureates gathered in Stockholm, Sweden, and Oslo, Norway, for an unprecedented celebration marking the 100th Anniversary of the Nobel Prize. (The prize winners in Physics, Chemistry, Medicine, Literature and Economics meet in Stockholm where their prizes were awarded, and, correspondingly, the Peace Prize winners meet in Oslo.)

Naturally, the 110 signatories to the attached Statement have their own individual priorities in viewing the future, but all agree to this broad outline of the challenge facing humankind. Among scientists signing are Dr. Francis Crick (Physiology/Medicine, 1962) co-discoverer of the double-helix, Dr. Hans Bethe (Physics, 1967) discoverer of the source of the sun's energy, Dr. Charles Townes (Physics, 1964) co-discoverer of the laser, and Drs. Mario Molina (Chemistry, 1995) and Paul Crutzen (Chemistry, 1995) honored for their studies of the chemistry of the atmosphere and the ozone hole. Among Literature winners Nadine Gordimer (1991), Günter Grass (1999) and Seamus Heaney (1995), and among Peace Prize winners Mr. Mikhail Gorbachev (1990) Archbishop Desmond Tutu (1984), His Holiness the Dalai Lama (1989) and José Ramos-Horta (1996).

In brief, the Statement warns that the world may explode into war if modern weapons continue to spread, and environmental strains remain unchecked. It stresses that we shall not have enduring peace until we address the twin scourges of poverty and oppression, and calls for a new sense of global responsibility.

It hardly need be said that the signatories make no claim to oracular status, but offer their views as a group of concerned citizens.

For further information in regard to the Statement contact Professor John Polanyi, jpolanyI@chem.utoronto.ca.

The following Preamble and Statement were both approved by the 110 signatories.

Preamble

The attached statement, prepared in consultation with an extensive group of Nobel prize-winners, was some time in the making. September 11th's appalling terrorist attack occurred after the Statement was written. The terrorization of civilian populations has, for too long, been a horrifying aspect of the global scene. The time has come to end it. This will require a re-shaping of relations within the human family. Our Statement, addressed to the long term, is a plea for just such a re-assessment of our obligations to one another.

Statement - The Next Hundred Years

The most profound danger to world peace in the coming years will stem not from the irrational acts of states or individuals but from the legitimate demands of the world's dispossessed. Of these poor and disenfranchised the majority live a marginal existence in equatorial climates. Global warming, not of their making but originating with the wealthy few, will affect their fragile ecologies most. Their situation will be desperate, and manifestly unjust. It cannot be expected, therefore, that in all cases they will be content to await the beneficence of the rich. If, then, we permit the devastating power of modern weaponry to spread through this combustible human landscape, we invite a conflagration that can engulf both rich and poor. The only hope for the future lies in co-operative international action, legitimized by democracy. It is time to turn our backs on the unilateral search for security, in which we seek to shelter behind walls. Instead we must persist in the quest for united action to counter both global warming and a weaponized world. These twin goals will constitute vital components of stability as we move toward the wider degree of social justice that alone gives hope of peace. Some of the needed legal instruments are already at hand, such as the Anti Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty, the Convention on Climate Change, the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaties (START), and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. As concerned citizens we urge all governments to commit to these goals which constitute steps on the way to the replacement of war by law. To survive in the world we have transformed we must learn to think in a new way. As never before, the future of each depends on the good of all.

1. Zhores I. Alferov (Physics, 2000)
2. Sidney Altman (Chemistry, 1989)
3. Philip W. Anderson (Physics, 1977)
4. Oscar Arias Sanchez (Peace, 1987)
5. J. Georg Bednorz (Physics, 1987)
6. Bishop Carlos F. X. Belo (Peace, 1996)
7. Baruj Benacerraf (Physiology/Medicine, 1980)
8. Hans A. Bethe (Physics, 1967)
9. Gerd K. Binnig (Physics, 1986)
10. James W. Black (Physiology/Medicine, 1988)
11. Guenter Blobel (Physiology/Medicine, 1999)
12. Nicolaas Bloembergen (Physics, 1981)
13. Norman E. Borlaug (Peace, 1970)
14. Paul D. Boyer (Chemistry, 1997)
15. Bertram N. Brockhouse (Physics, 1994)
16. Herbert C. Brown (Chemistry, 1979)
17. Georges Charpak (Physics, 1992)
18. Claude Cohen-Tannoudji (Physics, 1997)
19. John W. Cornforth (Chemistry, 1975)
20. Francis H.C. Crick (Physiology/ Medicine, 1962)
21. James W. Cronin (Physics, 1980)
22. Paul J. Crutzen (Chemistry, 1995)
23. Robert F. Curl (Chemistry, 1996)
24. His Holiness The Dalai Lama (Peace, 1989)
25. Johann Deisenhofer (Chemistry, 1988)
26. Peter C. Doherty (Physiology/Medicine, 1996)
27. Manfred Eigen (Chemistry, 1967)
28. Richard R. Ernst (Chemistry, 1991)
29. Leo Esaki (Physics, 1973)
30. Edmond H. Fischer (Physiology/Medicine, 1992)
31. Val L. Fitch (Physics, 1980)
32. Dario Fo (Literature, 1997)
33. Robert F. Furchgott (Physiology/Medicine, 1998)
34. Walter Gilbert (Chemistry, 1980)
35. Sheldon L. Glashow (Physics, 1979)
36. Mikhail S. Gorbachev (Peace, 1990)
37. Nadine Gordimer (Literature, 1991)
38. Günter Grass (Literature, 1999)
39. Paul Greengard (Physiology/Medicine, 2000)
40. Roger Guillemin (Physiology/Medicine, 1977)
41. Herbert A. Hauptman (Chemistry, 1985)
42. Seamus Heaney (Literature, 1995)
43. Dudley R. Herschbach (Chemistry, 1986)
44. Antony Hewish (Physics, 1974)
45. Roald Hoffmann (Chemistry, 1981)
46. Gerardus 't Hooft (Physics, 1999)
47. David H. Hubel (Physiology/Medicine, 1981)
48. Robert Huber (Chemistry, 1988)
49. François Jacob (Physiology/Medicine, 1975)
50. Brian D. Josephson (Physics, 1973)
51. Jerome Karle (Chemistry, 1985)
52. Wolfgang Ketterle (Physics, 2001)
53. H. Gobind Khorana, (Physiology/Medicine, 1968)
54. Lawrence R. Klein (Economics, 1980)
55. Klaus von Klitzing (Physics, 1985)
56. Aaron Klug (Chemistry, 1982)
57. Walter Kohn (Chemistry, 1998)
58. Herbert Kroemer (Physics, 2000)
59. Harold Kroto (Chemistry, 1996)
60. Willis E. Lamb (Physics, 1955)
61. Leon M. Lederman (Physics, 1988)
62. Yuan T. Lee (Chemistry, 1986)
63. Jean-Marie Lehn (Chemistry, 1987)
64. Rita Levi-Montalcini (Physiology/Medicine, 1986)
65. William N. Lipscomb (Chemistry, 1976)
66. Alan G. MacDiarmid (Chemistry, 2000)
67. Máiread Maguire (Peace, 1976)
68. Daniel L. McFadden (Economics, 2000)
69. César Milstein (Physiology/Medicine, 1984)
70. Franco Modigliani (Economics, 1985)
71. Rudolf L. Moessbauer (Physics, 1961)
72. Mario J. Molina (Chemistry, 1995)
73. Ben R. Mottelson (Physics, 1975)
74. Ferid Murad (Physiology/Medicine, 1998)
75. Erwin Neher (Physiology/Medicine, 1991)
76. Marshall W. Nirenberg (Physiology/Medicine, 1968)
77. Joseph E. Murray (Physiology/Medicine, 1990)
78. Paul M. Nurse (Physiology/Medicine, 2001)
79. George E. Palade (Physiology/Medicine, 1974)
80. Max F. Perutz (Chemistry, 1962)
81. William D. Phillips (Physics, 1997)
82. John C. Polanyi (Chemistry, 1986)
83. Ilya Prigogine (Chemistry, 1977)
84. José Ramos-Horta (Peace, 1996)
85. Burton Richter (Physics, 1976)
86. Heinrich Rohrer (Physics, 1987)
87. Joseph Rotblat (Peace, 1995)
88. Carlo Rubbia (Physics, 1984)
89. Bert Sakmann (Physiology/Medicine, 1991)
90. Frederick Sanger (Chemistry, 1958; 1980)
91. José Saramago (Literature, 1998)
92. J. Robert Schrieffer (Physics, 1972)
93. Melvin Schwartz (Physics, 1988)
94. K. Barry Sharpless (Chemistry, 2001)
95. Richard E. Smalley (Chemistry, 1996)
96. Jack Steinberger (Physics, 1988)
97. Joseph E. Stiglitz (Economics, 2001)
98. Horst L. Stormer (Physics, 1998)
99. Henry Taube (Chemisry, 1983)
100. Joseph H. Taylor, Jr. (Physics, 1993)
101. Susumu Tonegawa (Physiology/Medicine, 1987)
102. Charles H. Townes (Physics, 1964)
103. Daniel T. Tsui (Physics, 1998)
104. Archbishop Desmond M. Tutu (Peace, 1984)
105. John Vane (Physiology/Medicine, 1982)
106. John E. Walker (Chemistry, 1997)
107. Eric F. Wieschaus (Physiology/Medicine, 1982)
108. Jody Williams (Peace, 1997)
109. Robert W. Wilson (Physics, 1978)
110. Ahmed H. Zewail (Chemistry, 1999)