Is history always doomed to repeat itself?

Yes, I do I believe we are, if not “doomed,” certainly more inclined than not to repeat the past, either because we forget it, ignore it, or never understood its how’s and why’s in the first place.

Like little children, we’re bound to repeat the same mistake over and over again until at some point, it clicks, and we stop. Until we forget again.

Yes and no (I SWEAR this isn’t a cop out).

Yes because humanity is fallible, by nature. Therefore, it will always make the same KINDS of mistakes.

No because history doesn’t have to be a loop (negation of the negation) but it can be a spiral. We don’t have to repeat the EXACT SAME mistakes. We have a knowledge of history, which helps, but times and society are and is always changing. Therefore, we have new issues to deal with and new tools to deal with both old and new issues. The best we can hope for is a constant refinement of our government, economic systems, and other frameworks so that the overall benefits of life are improved and more available to all.

Governments are more inclined to repeat the mistakes of the past than individuals.
Although we often fail to notice when we are repeating a past error, we can learn and act differently.

I do know what Vietnam was about and the people who didn’t think that was a mistake support the wars that are mistakes now. They’re not learning because they don’t believe it was ever wrong.

Some of us learn the lessons of the past and some do not.

@Simone_De_Beauvoir They would not listen then; They’re not listening still. Perhaps they never will.

No, only when people fail to learn the lessons of history. Education is the key.