Posts by Peter Prontzos
About Peter Prontzos
Peter G. Prontzos, Faculty Emeritus at Langara College in Vancouver, taught Political Science for over 25 years. His courses included International Political Economy, Latin American Studies, Peace and Conflict Studies, Developing Nations, Political Ideologies, Social Movements, International Relations, Political Psychology and Political Philosophy.
He also has a degree in Psychology, and an interest in such fields as Anthropology, History, the Natural Sciences, Philosophy, Environmental Studies, and Media. His articles have appeared in print and online including in the CCPA Monitor, and he has worked in both radio and television. He has lectured at conferences in Canada, the US, Scotland, and Greece. He now leads educational tours to Greece, and is finishing his first book, Remembering Our Humanity: A Better World Is Possible.
Mar 28, 2018
A British Cabinet Minister, Tracey Crouch, has been given the task of coming up with a national strategy to combat an epidemic of loneliness in the UK. Loneliness is a health problem around the world, and British Columbia is no exception. Social isolation is increasing here and across our country. SFU’s Director of Gerontology, Andrew Wister, notes…
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Jun 6, 2017
The following is a review of The Broken Ladder: How Inequality Affects the Way We Think, Live, and Die by Keith Payne, published by Viking in May 2017. In 2016 Oxfam made the almost unbelievable announcement that the richest 62 people in the world had as much wealth as the poorest half of the global population. That was…
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May 2, 2017
The following is a review of Just cool it! The climate crisis and what we can do by David Suzuki and Ian Hanington, published by Greystone Books/David Suzuki Institute. Two passages in the introduction to this book encapsulate the situation that confronts us as the effects of global warming become more serious every day. The first describes a…
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Mar 16, 2016
A few months ago, economist and CCPA research associate Jim Stanford gave a talk in Vancouver based on his newest book, Economics for Everyone: A Short Guide to the Economics of Capitalism. Of the many important insights that he discussed, perhaps the most significant concerned a problem that has afflicted British Columbia and most other…
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Jul 6, 2015
I was prompted to write this post by the very unusual fact that, right now, Vancouver skies are smokey from the various wildfires burning in southwest BC. Of course, skies filled with smoke and ash are not uncommon in the summer, but it’s a black day in July when fires are so widespread and so…
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Jun 7, 2011
It is now clear that economic, and social variables – more than individual behaviour – are the most salient factors in determining people’s well-being. Working and living conditions, the distribution of wealth, and where we live are some of , “the primary factors that shape the health of Canadians” (CCPA Monitor, June 2010). Almost everything…
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Apr 11, 2011
Time magazine recently reported that particulates in the air from “industry, traffic and domestic heating, cause 4,300 premature deaths in London each year”. That works out to about 12 people dying every single day, in just one city. The British government does not seem worried about this horrific toll. To put their response in perspective,…
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Dec 10, 2010
[Note: I will be giving a presentation on this subject this Sunday, December 12th, from 12:30 to 1:30 at the Unitarian Church (Hewett Hall), 49th and Oak, Vancouver] ———- Johann Goethe wrote: “Viewed from the height of reason, all life looks like some malignant disease and the world like a madhouse.” His view may seem…
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Nov 21, 2010
A “paradigm shift” was the theme of Dr. Marti Glenn, one of the keynote speakers at the 2010 International Congress of The Association for Prenatal and Perinatal Psychology & Health, which took place from November 11-14 at Asilomar, California. Dr. Glenn, who is the Dean of the Santa Barbara Graduate Institute, began by saying that,…
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Sep 19, 2010
Global warming is “a socialist plot” to steal from the rich – according to Prime Minister Stephen Harper. However, it’s not just Harper. The federal government, under both Liberals and Conservatives, has not only resisted environmental action in Canada, they have opposed international efforts to protect the Earth. Indeed, George Monbiot wrote that Canada is…
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