Why does failure to learn history doom one to repeat it?
Define failure to learn history. If Little Johnny gets a C+ in history he does not need to retake the class.
Now, one might ask, why did Little Johnny get a C+ in history? The test was as so:
1. What color of uniform did the British wear during the Revolutionary War, and why were they called Redcoats?
2. Where did Lincoln deliver the Gettysburg Address?
3. Who was intended to be buried in Grant's tomb?
Actually Little Johnny did not get a C+. He got a D. But....
Little Johnny isn't stupid. He's just nasty. He got a C+ in his Junior Programming class because he thought it would be clever (get it?). He got a D in history because the Blonde that taught it (and made up the test questions) had D's as well and he looked forward to another round of starting fights in class just so he could roll around on the floor and look up her dress.
Fast forward: After two rounds of history class, Little Johnny is so knowledgeable about the subject that he can fool any Blonde at the bar, and also the occasional Asian chick just as long as he sticks with American history and doesn't go in to a discourse about Ghengis Khan (that's risky.)
So, I dunno. If the question was directed in response to some of the recent SZ conversations, like taking on hoards of refugees, I don't have an answer. Maybe re-introduce slavery as an economic introduction point, although that would probably be a hard sell plus we would probably have to create a fictitious Syrian Christmas holiday as an appeasement.