As a firm opponent of the "democracy" we supposedly enjoy, I was disturbed to read a think-tank is recommending voting be made compulsory (The Argus, May 7).

Let us put the notion of democracy under the microscope and examine its worth.

Firstly, why do people think they are entitled to vote as a right? We are completely obsessed with the idea of people's rights.

Voting should not be a right. It should be something we have to work for. Anyone who wants to vote should take a test to show they understand the basics of each party's policies and how these policies affect individuals, the state and the world. As it stands, any idiot is entitled to vote.

Our focus needs to move from rights to responsibilities.

This means dropping the childish notion that the world "owes" us anything. Being an adult human being means putting away the toys and getting real about what is important.

The ego which drives people to bigger TVs, cars, holidays etc is what is carrying us towards environmental oblivion at speed.

It is the greed of the small-minded which will destroy us.

As the philosopher Nietzsche said: "The strong need protecting from the weak".

Intelligent, thinking people are at the mercy of a herd which doesn't think about where it shops, what it buys and the results of its choices.

One final thought for supporters of democracy - it was through democratic means Adolf Hitler came to power.

-Simon Boyd, Newhaven