Individualism and values

Many centuries on end before life a particular person meant nothing for all kinds of regimes. Only with the emergence of democracy, people began to value each person, regardless of language, belief, color of skin and social status. However, as for social status, this claim is the most questionable is the weakest point of democracy. Today people are not equal even in advanced society. This fact contradicts the very essence of democracy and makes democratic ideas vulnerable and exposed to criticism. Democracy is mostly criticized for its hypocrisy. However one of the unquestionable achievements of democracy is humanism, which places the man in the center of all priorities. This is a reaction to despotism and authoritarianism and all other types of political regimes, when life of ordinary citizen meant nothing for the elite. Due to democracy, life and rights of each person are the main values of our time. This fact gives us a great number of different opportunities. If you are a clever and talented person, you can be a success. If you are an ordinary and mediocre person, you also have rights and freedoms. Thus, we may say that our time is the most favorable for living and self-actualization. However, there are a lot of people, who argue that there are values, which are much more important, for example, state interests. They think that human life is worth being sacrificed for the sake of common prosperity. I think that this idea is wrong.