About me

I blog about politics (mostly Canadian politics) and philosophy (especially ethics and political philosophy, but occasionally touching on topics in metaphysics, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of religion).

As a member of the New Democratic Party, I’m active in my federal and provincial constituency associations; I currently serve as a federal riding president and provincial riding membership secretary. However, this blog represents my personal views only.

My political views are broadly social democratic, though more in the Nordic mode than the Canadian. To me that means support for radical expansion of the welfare state, institutionalized workers’ power, and openness to both social ownership and market economics. I’m also interested in ways that our democracy can be made more participatory and deliberative within the context of a parliamentary regime. In political philosophy I identify with egalitarian liberalism; I draw particular inspiration from John Rawls, Elizabeth Anderson, Samuel Scheffler, T. M. Scanlon, and Martha Nussbaum.

I’m on Twitter as @MrSteveTweedale and I can be reached by email at [my surname] at gmail.com.

About the name “Popcorn Machine”

There’s a few reasons for the name. Here’s three.

First and foremost, the name is inspired by a specific Cretors Profiteer Model P14C popcorn machine. I’m a longtime volunteer for the Cinematheque, where my usual responsibilities include making and serving popcorn as well as cleaning the popcorn machine at the end of the night. Talking about politics around that machine and with many of the people I’ve met while operating it has had a big influence on my views as they’ve evolved over the years.

Second, this is also intended as a writing exercise of sorts. I want to overcome anxiety about the quality of my writing while also improving my ability to write well within a fairly tight deadline, and I think maintaining a blog might help with this. Like a batch of popcorn that burns when it sits in the kettle for too long, ideas that just roll around in the head forever without being clearly articulated end up being no good at all. If I sit on an idea for too long, it ceases to be relevant, slips away, or just gets turned into another idea. At the same time, you don’t want to empty the kettle too soon, because unpopped kernels aren’t such a tasty snack and they can end up breaking a customer’s tooth! And there’s no point in making a big fluffy pile of popcorn in the first place if you have no intention of serving it out to people.

Finally, popcorn is a snack for showtime! And in my opinion, Canadian politics is among the greatest shows on Earth. If you feel the same way, I hope the Popcorn Machine will prove to be a source of delicious and relatively nutritious brain-snacks that enhance your enjoyment of the experience and don’t break your teeth.