What are the lessons of history and why don’t we learn them?

The long-running series in which readers answer other readers’ questions on subjects ranging from trivial flights of fancy to profound scientific and philosophical concepts

What are the lessons of history and why don’t we learn them? Thomas Jefferson Knowland, Yorkshire

Post your answers (and new questions) below or send them to nq@theguardian.com. A selection will be published next Sunday.

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