What are some times when history did not repeat itself?

Question

History repeats itself. This is a known fact. You can often tell where a country is headed by looking at other countries in the past that do similar things as that country. But has there ever been a time when the exact opposite of the norm has happened? When someone saw what was going on and rose up to combat it, and actually succeeded?

Answer 1

Skooterbug: History never repeats itself. There are times when we can look into the past and interpolate the appearance of repetition because people from different times, who found themselves in similar circumstances, may have followed similar courses of action. But, in the end, two things remain true. First, all history is the result of human choices, decisions, that could have been differently. And, second, every generation reinterprets the past, rediscovering in it that which the current generation finds relevant to themselves.



History does offer wisdom to those who are willing to learn. But the problem is that it teaches its lessons in the form of "parables" (stories whose meanings are not obvious) and we have to figure them out for ourselves.



And people do "rise up" to change the future. Rome, for example, lasted a thousand years. It took Rome (in the words of the great historian Will Durant) longer to "fall" than most other civilization ever lasted. The reason? People, like Marcus Aurelius and others, saw what was going on and combated it. Without Marcus, Rome would have collapsed hundreds of years before it did.

Answer 2

Nazi Germany and the current state of the U.S.~ fortunately, due to the internet, this one won't be repeating itself. The current administration tried to race the wind of public opinion, throwing smoke screens inroute to the finishline. But they were overtaken by public opinion before they could gain complete control over all media.

GW actually set the stage for this by providing the first stumbling block for them. He knew that they would agree instantly with a huge bailout plan and signed it into law. What they didn't see is that he just soured the milk allowing only one more "stimulus" bill to be passed before the public said, "no more". Without being able to pass the third bill they were slowed just enough to give Palin a clear shot at the healthcare reform, which she waited patiently for, then squeezed off one round from her single shot rifle, stopping it dead in it's tracks. The wind caught them shortly afterward and now they are caught in a tug of war with the public. The blitkrieg completely derailed.

Answer 3

History always repeats itself. There're no more new things under the sun. Only that history is being repeated in different shape and form, but repeating they are.



Can you tell me just one incident happen nowadays we cannot find similar cases in the past? You can't.

Answer 4

The Great Depression comes to mind for me. Following it the banking system was restructured and social safety nets were put in place to prevent it from ever happening again. It's been largely successful so far since the economic downturns we have experienced since have been mild in comparison.



"We learn from history that we learn nothing from history" - George Bernard Shaw