History doesn’t repeat itself, but if often rhymes
We often tend to attribute this quote to Mark Twain (though there is no solid proof he actually said it). The general idea is that events in History don’t happen the exact same way, but the patterns of human ambition, conflict and hope, echo throughout time.
However, we say this, but I’m not so sure anymore. The same cycles of ambition, reform and collapse seem to play out again, and again and again. Only now, they’ve lost their rhythm. Each age thinks its unique, yet somehow we keep returning to the same crossroads, just under new names and systems.
Take modern politics. We promise transparency, yet face scandals over surveillance and misuse of data. We speak of democracy, yet power concentrates more than ever in unelected hands. It’s a new set of vocabulary, but a story as old as time. Those who write the rules often find ways to keep them tilted in their favour.
Maybe that’s what makes studying History so important. It reminds us that progress isn’t automatic. The past doesn’t repeat because we forget it, but because we stop listening to what it is trying to teach us.