This house would embrace a life of mindless consumerism - closing speeches

Third proposing speech

Ladies and Gentlemen, during the century after my death, society has changed a lot, but modern man hasn’t cured his sicknesses yet. I, Friedrich Nietzsche, strongly believe that modern man is ill because of his incessant intellectual activity that tortures his mind. The opposition members, for instance, would prevent themselves from buying an ice-cream without thinking about the consequences. Somehow, they have convinced themselves that it would be acting like a Bonobo! What kind of intellectual perversion is that? (Continues below the fold…)

by LT

3rd opposing speech

I had a lot of fun, I partied, always at the hottest clubs, I ate in the best restaurants and traveled a lot always with a private jet of course. I lived in small mansion that I had rented. At some point my wardrobe was worth almost a million dollars. I had it all and it was great, but now that I think of it  I am a sports star - or used to be. Now I am retired - and broke, even though I used to make millions of dollars a year. Luckily my mom took me to live with her. Sometimes I think about how my life could be right now if I had not been so stupid. (Continues below the fold…)

by VV

Third proposing speech

Ladies and Gentlemen, during the century after my death, society has changed a lot, but modern man hasn’t cured his sicknesses yet. I, Friedrich Nietzsche, strongly believe that modern man is ill because of his incessant intellectual activity that tortures his mind. The opposition members, for instance, would prevent themselves from buying an ice-cream without thinking about the consequences. Somehow, they have convinced themselves that it would be acting like a Bonobo! What kind of intellectual perversion is that?

I am neither defending stupidity nor over consumerism. Once again I am defending consumption without justification, second thoughts, and concern for the consequences. If I were to live today for longer than this debate, I would see no reason why I wouldn’t go out and buy a currywurst one last time (and a cupcake because I’ve never tasted them and they look amazing). Right now I am also wearing my old clothes, so I am neither naked nor freezing to death. However I feel like I might buy a new pair of jeans too. Why would I do that? I have ridiculous old-fashion clothes on me but they keep me warm! Because I want to, and I have some money in my wallet. Am I acting stupid? I don’t think so, and I am looking forward to meeting the man who would contradict me. Am I embracing mindless consumerism? Yes. I don’t really need to taste a cupcake before going back to my grave, and I don’t desperately need new clothes but I would enjoy having them. And since I can afford such products, I am not going to think twice about it. But if I were to live longer, embracing mindless consumerism wouldn’t make me dumb at all. As I said a century ago, of all kind of intelligence we have discovered, instinct is, without doubt, the cleverest.

Such instinct leads us to happiness. And by instinct I don’t mean having sex at anytime or anywhere, I mean buying an ice-cream if I fancy one, or a new pair of shoes. Following your instinct doesn’t enable your brain to function. The opposition argued that this happiness is ephemeral, but it is happiness anyway. And if you bring together all the small pieces of happiness, you may realise that mindless consumerism creates long-term welfare for the majority of us. But what if your intellect really tells you to spurn mindless consumerism? That’s okay, I know there is a very nice Amish community which would love to welcome you in its houses without hot water nor electricity. They consider they don’t need electricity, hot water, or cars, just as you consider you don’t need that ice-cream. Wait, why do you want electricity again?

Accusing mindless consumerism of being evil is an excuse for human mistakes. You wouldn’t blame the knife for stabbing your old crazy neighbour that night. That same lovely knife you would have used to cut your currywurst into pieces the night before. Also the subprime crisis is not due to mindless consumerism but to crazy over consumerism and the manipulation of people by credit and banking institutions. It is a succession of unfortunate decisions and events.

Mindless consumerism is no evil, and if you think it is, you have sold your soul a long time ago. Actually you have already embraced it without realizing it (that’s why it is mindless by the way, not because it is stupid). Do you only feed yourself with boiled potatoes? Of course not, when you go to the supermarket you also buy tomatoes, bread and meat. You have no reason to do so, you could survive without it, but you do it anyway because it is standard and you like it. Of course you don’t take the most expensive products, that would be stupid, but you still buy them.

To conclude this debate, I want to remind you that embracing mindless consumerism is not something we should be afraid or ashamed of, it is the logical result of our way of life. Welcoming mindless consumerism means welcoming your own happiness as well as social happiness through economical sustainability. The only bad thing about mindless consumerism is its pejorative connotation, thus, if you thought you had been sensible to the opposition’s argumentation earlier, remember that convictions are prisons, it is not too late to escape. I should go back to the afterlife now with my friend Epicurus and the corpse of Vanilla Ice-Cream who was finally eaten without real pleasure. Thank you for reading my speech, and propose this motion.

LT

3rd opposing speech

I had a lot of fun, I partied, always at the hottest clubs, I ate in the best restaurants and traveled a lot always with a private jet of course. I lived in small mansion that I had rented. At some point my wardrobe was worth almost a million dollars. I had it all and it was great, but now that I think of it  I am a sports star - or used to be. Now I am retired - and broke, even though I used to make millions of dollars a year. Luckily my mom took me to live with her. Sometimes I think about how my life could be right now if I had not been so stupid.

As the previous speakers pointed out consumerism as itself is a good thing. It keeps our economy rolling. As a result of well function economy people have jobs. It makes no difference whether one consumes on products or services it is all good for the economy. As my college Bonobo said, we are not opposing consumerism, but we do oppose mindless consumerism.

I agree with the second proposing speaker that eating ice-cream is okay and that the argument was confusing, however it was an argument made by the proposing team. I strongly recommend traveling also, it widens ones view on the world. Learning different languages and about different cultures is great. One can even travel in business class if he likes it and can afford it.

Eating out and spending money on food is recommended, but we urge you to minimize the amount of food you throw away. Try to by it according to your needs and do not stockpile food that is bound to go bad before you can eat it. Fresher the food is, usually the better it is.

Most of us feel good buying something they want, something nice and it makes us feel good and for instance wearing nice clothes can give us more self-confidence. However, if you have to go shopping just to make you feel better, something is seriously wrong. Getting a hangover from too drinking too much is actually a good thing, because it helps us to remember that perhaps the next time we should not drink as much. Same kind of feeling can, and should, be experienced after mindless shopping. I have experienced it, so called "shopping hangover", on multiple occasions - mainly after shopping too much stuff I do not need or that I could not really afford. If shopping, even though it makes you happy for a few hours, leads to having to count every penny at the grocery store for the rest of the month to be able (or not to be able) to provide for your family, you really should seek help!

I did not really get the second proposers argument about spending on services. There is nothing wrong with going out with friends and buying a few bears from a bar etc. Problems come if you do not have sufficient funds and you have to go to the hippest and most expensive club in the city. There are lots of people with serious credit problems caused by mindless consumerism. These problems have a tendency to add up: first you lose your credit credentials, that leads to problems when trying to find an apartment, which can lead to troubles getting a job or losing the one you have. This kind of people exist in all social classes - the ones who have more just spend more. If you are a billionaire and really can afford to fly with your own jet, just go ahead and do so. We have nothing against consumerism as long as you consume according your funds.

VV