The German philosopher GWF Hegel once wrote that "the only thing we learn from history is that we learn nothing from history." Perhaps it was just a throwaway line, because Hegel made an exception for himself.
In his lectures on the philosophy of history, Hegel argued that history developed according to a discernible pattern, and that it would have a desirable end: the triumph of absolute freedom, vague as that is.
Karl Marx, influenced by Hegel, put some flesh on those bones. The end of history, he wrote, would be the triumph of the ideal society in which everyone would be free to develop their full humanity: communism.
Marx also wrote, in what seems a contradiction, that history repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce. That was perhaps a throwaway line as well, but one could erect a plausible theory of history on it: tragedy, farce, tragedy, farce, tragedy, farce. (Image: The End of Marx. His grave, Highgate Cemetery, London)
After the fall of less than ideal Soviet communism, political scientist Francis Fukuyama claimed that the end of history was the triumph of Western liberal democracy. In 1992 it was possible to indulge in such a fantasy, I suppose. But it overlooked what was hiding under the cloak of liberal democracy: deregulated vulture capitalism, AKA neoliberalism, neoconservatism, Reaganomics and other Orwellian names.
It also overlooked the continuing existence of a particular type or subspecies of human, which for want of a better term, we will call "Putin Man."
Perhaps it is unfair to name a whole slice of humanity after the current president of Russia. There many other possibilities: Hitler Man and Stalin Man naturally leap to mind. Trump Man might do, but he is currently busy playing golf at Mar a Lago.
Mr. Putin is very much in the news for invading Ukraine, so we'll go with Putin Man for now. What are the characteristics of Putin Man? Narcissism, megalomania, paranoia, lack of empathy or ethics, inhumanity, barbarism, just to name a few.
It is impossible to know how many members of homo sapiens harbour these characteristics, but history tells us that they are sufficiently numerous to create a living hell for humanity periodically. They can't do it all by themselves, of course. They need support from those with similar characteristics. Those who just shrug, say I don't do politics, and look away are a big help as well.
History tells me Putin Man may be defeated for a time, but he will return. In Albert Camus's novel The Plague people of different, even clashing, perspectives work together to vanquish a deadly epidemic. But at the end, the narrator issues a warning: the plague will always be with us. It will resurge again when our guard is lowered. He could have been talking about Covid -- or Putin Man.
History has no end, unless it be the destruction of humanity itself. That is currently a work in progress. I wish I could be more cheery, but as Louis Namier wrote, "History is not a visit of condolence."
Further Reading:
Francis Fukuyama, The End of History and the Last Man (1992).
Karl Marx, The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon (1852), and other works.
G.W.F. Hegel, Lectures on the Philosophy of History (1837).
Albert Camus, The Plague (1947).
