Nailed it sweety

History is made by people who find themselves in positions of power, by a combination of cunning, intelligence, and the luck of the draw,,
who become so drunk with that power,
they come to believe
they as a group,
or as an individual,
ARE that power,
and are
infallible.
At a particular moment in time,
they make the critical decision
NOT to shake off these delusions,
and cede power gracefully,
but instead hold onto it at all costs,
one way or another.
This leads to a chain of events which quickly spiral out of control.
Conflict ensues, and with it, inevitably, comes
devastation.
This plays out in any grouping,
from families, tribes, on up into increasing complex
hierarchial structures,
until it reaches
the very top, and wars break out.

In the ruins,
A new order is built,
and the cycle begins anew.
This is one definition
of "the human condition."

People can't learn from their own history, what would make you thimk they could learn from general history History only seems to be helpful to recognise a mistake after you've made it again

That's very true, actually about the first thing you learn from any in depth study of history, is that the human race keeps making the same mistakes over and over again.