Let’s regard Renaissance, with its golden pride and claims to change everything, This period greatly differed from the previous one (meaning the Middle Ages). One of the most important achievements of the time is democratic approach to ruling the state, to treating people - and generally the new-gained “freedom of mind”. This can be seen in science: the development of exact sciences that were accused of various sins earlier, the development of art and culture: new forms and new thoughts. The epoch of education and enlightenment, started by volterians, and continued by nowadays, made a great contribution into progress. The creative product of this time is enormous by its value and meaning. The cessation of slavery over the whole world also finalised at that time.

This period gave us the basis of democracy and human rights, it outlined the definition of the state as the one caring about people, not about its grandeur. The idea of humanism was rather new to the society that earlier came through inquisition and religious boundaries. Prominent philosophers of this period knew no boundaries at all. Ordinary people also felt the wind of freedom and step by step cultural level of the mankind was rising.

Renaissance and the following periods gave us the idea of economics; though some first economical concepts have been expressed much earlier, but the growth of economy and economics was abundant exactly at the regarded time. What do we see today? Democratic ideas have reached a lot, and have spread over the whole world. If at Renaissance times these concepts were only the property of the most developed and progressive countries, now these ideas are common and are somehow regarded as a certain “standard” for ruling a country – not exactly ruling, but more showing the direction of the movement. Today there’s a new tendency: tendency for globalisation. Countries tend to combine in unions. The ideas of all people being equal are almost acknowledged all over. It is, in my opinion, a valuable cultural product of our society and our time.

Another chain of great steps is made by the science: medicine first of all, and also computer science. Human’s life being above all – it’s also the contribution of our society, and it’s a thing to be proud of. Everything is leading towards uniting all countries and people in one nation that can be truly alled “mankind”. This is a considerable change in everyone’s consciousness. Earlier people used to invent different prejudices based on race, nationality, language, origin, skin colour and so on. Nowadays these peculiarities have less and less influence toward someone’s attitude. Instead people group according to their views, tastes, beliefs - their inner side. It’s today when culture, art and civilization gain more and more meaning. Our society, despite many of its problems, is rising on a higher level.

At the same time art is becoming “popular” in a specific way: it’s becoming more people-oriented, not self-oriented. Thanks to various means of communications art can be wide-spread, and therefore it answers better the tastes of the masses. Someone says that this is a bad tendency - but does art really have to be only for “a selected company”? One more meaningful improvement of our time is that art and culture have become common and are accessible for all people.