This house believes that happiness can be bought - Opening Proposition Speech

This paper, along with the papers of my friends of the government, will clearly demonstrate to you how easy it is for happiness to be bought. Happiness is the state where our desires are fulfilled – if not all of them, then at least some of them. To “buy” is to acquire something through financial means – either directly or indirectly. Thus, the question of this debate could translate into the following: “can money fulfill our desires?”

First and foremost, let us take a look around us. Education, security, health care, comfort, food, and so on have nowadays all become the most basic of human desires. And unfortunately, they all come at a price.… Yes, there is a “welfare state” which is always trying to assist the poorest in their struggle against ruthless capitalism; but this metaphor is outdated. And this is not only a consequence of the greek crisis (By the way, inform me if any greek is happy now?).

In our educational system, for instance, tell me what is the percentage of poor people in this class? Or perhaps in this school?

What about your security? What about these people living in “Saint-Denis”, or in the “favellas” in rio de janero? Do you really think that they can be happy, constantly fearing for their lives? Personally, I would be happier in my little duplex in Neuilly sur seine.

I don’t need to elaborate any further on comfort and food …I trust you can judge by yourself, when you stumble upon homeless people on your way to catch the morning train.

Tell me now, how can you be happy, when deprived from all these essential needs? (Unless you are Will Smith in some illusory Hollywoodian movie, i.e. “pursuit of happiness”)

Money can satisfy the needs of those who possess it. And fulfilling these essential desires is the indispensable condition to reach happiness. You might argue that this argument only establishes that you need money to be happy, but doesn’t prove that money can buy happiness. Unconsciously, we never really consider that eating, sleeping in a bed every night, going to school when we are young, is real happiness. We often have a tendency to take for granted what is offered to us, without realizing what our reaction would be were we to be deprived of it. Thus, the first state of happiness relates the satiating of our primary desires. This is basic happiness. And money, can buy it. And only money, nowadays, can buy it.

My friends will now show you how one could access many states of happiness – besides the “basic” happiness - such as love, friendship, social gratitude and so on.

Paul G