--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Progress is man's indifference to the…" description: "\"Progress is man's indifference to the lessons of history.\" — Len Deighton" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9c/len-deighton-21485_growth_progress-is-man-s-indifference-to-the-le_1325786.png" --- # Progress is man's indifference to the lessons of history. ![“Progress is man's indifference to the lessons of history.” quote by Len Deighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9c/len-deighton-21485_growth_progress-is-man-s-indifference-to-the-le_1325786.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9c/len-deighton-21485_growth_progress-is-man-s-indifference-to-the-le_1325786.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e9c/len-deighton-21485_growth_progress-is-man-s-indifference-to-the-le_1325786.png) > “Progress is man's indifference to the lessons of history.” [Len Deighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/len-deighton/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. History repeats when people ignore past lessons, leading to repeated mistakes. **In simple terms:** Ignoring history repeats mistakes. Key Takeaway Learn from past to avoid repeat errors. Themes history learning responsibility Mood reflective serious Type cautionary philosophical When to use this quote - politics - education - personal decisions - societal trends Key Concepts cyclical patterns human nature Questions to Reflect On - What lessons have you ignored? - How can you apply past insights today? A Different Perspective History alone cannot change behavior without active reflection. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Growth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/growth/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) [Indifference](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/indifference/) [Lessons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lessons/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Progress](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/progress/) ## Related quotes > [Finds progress, man's distinctive mark alone, Not God's, and not the beast's; God is, they are, Man partly is, and wholly hopes to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-browning/finds-progress-man-s-distinctive-mark-alone-not-god-s-and-not-the/) [Robert Browning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-browning/) > [Discontent is the first step in the progress of a man or a nation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oscar-wilde/discontent-is-the-first-step-in-the-progress-of-a-man-or-a-nation/) [Oscar Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oscar-wilde/) > [Progress is man's ability to complicate simplicity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thor-heyerdahl/progress-is-man-s-ability-to-complicate-simplicity/) [Thor Heyerdahl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thor-heyerdahl/) > [The greatest obstacle to progress is not man's inherited pugnacity, but his incorrigible tendency to parasitism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-ralph-inge/the-greatest-obstacle-to-progress-is-not-man-s-inherited-pugnacity/) [William Ralph Inge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-ralph-inge/) > [We're not perfect. We're a work in progress. But man, America has gotten a lot of things right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donna-edwards/we-re-not-perfect-we-re-a-work-in-progress-but-man-america-has-gotten/) [Donna Edwards](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donna-edwards/) > [“Men may make progress, but man never changes. Man loves power and money. No matter the skin color, religion or income level. These symbols…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glenn-beck/men-may-make-progress-but-man-never-changes-man-loves-power-and-money/) [Glenn Beck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glenn-beck/) > [When misguided public opinion honors what is despicable and despises what is honorable, punishes virtue and rewards vice, encourages what is harmful and discourages…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederic-bastiat/when-misguided-public-opinion-honors-what-is-despicable-and-despises/) [Frederic Bastiat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederic-bastiat/) > [There is one lesson from the past, in particular, that we cannot afford to ignore: You cannot make progress on gender equality or broader…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hillary-clinton/there-is-one-lesson-from-the-past-in-particular-that-we-cannot-afford/) [Hillary Clinton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hillary-clinton/) > [The lessons are, unfortunately, that a small weak country that is facing an extremely hostile and very violent superpower will not make much progress…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noam-chomsky/the-lessons-are-unfortunately-that-a-small-weak-country-that-is/) [Noam Chomsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noam-chomsky/) > [“I wasn't sure which I appreciated less—the insincere concern or the genuine indifference.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-graham/i-wasn-t-sure-which-i-appreciated-less-the-insincere-concern-or-the/) Arthur Graham > [Love and hate, despite their polar opposites, are both feelings that are induced by passion. I can handle that. It's the indifference I don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colleen-hoover/love-and-hate-despite-their-polar-opposites-are-both-feelings-that/) [Colleen Hoover](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colleen-hoover/) > [Indifference is harder to fight than hostility, and there is nothing that kills an agitation like having everybody admit that it is fundamentally right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crystal-eastman/indifference-is-harder-to-fight-than-hostility-and-there-is-nothing/) [Crystal Eastman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crystal-eastman/) > [“Courage did not come from the need to survive, or from a brute indifference inherited from someone else, but from a driving need for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/courage-did-not-come-from-the-need-to-survive-or-from-a-brute/) [Gabriel García Márquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabriel-garc-a-m-rquez/) > [If Melanchthon were alive today, he might not weep because of controversies that surround the Lord's Supper, but he might well sorrow because of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erwin-w-lutzer/if-melanchthon-were-alive-today-he-might-not-weep-because-of/) [Erwin W. Lutzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erwin-w-lutzer/) > [Violence is not necessary to destroy a civilization. Each civilization dies from indifference toward the unique values which created it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-gomez-davila/violence-is-not-necessary-to-destroy-a-civilization-each-civilization/) [Nicolas Gomez Davila](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-gomez-davila/) ## More by Len Deighton > [“she still had that fundamental insecurity that one bout of poverty can inflict for a lifetime, and no amount of money remedy.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/len-deighton/she-still-had-that-fundamental-insecurity-that-one-bout-of-poverty/) [Len Deighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/len-deighton/) > [I store away my experiences and don't feel really happy until I've found a way to write about them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/len-deighton/i-store-away-my-experiences-and-don-t-feel-really-happy-until-i-ve/) [Len Deighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/len-deighton/) > [Do you ever make silly mistakes? It is one of my very few creative activities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/len-deighton/do-you-ever-make-silly-mistakes-it-is-one-of-my-very-few-creative/) [Len Deighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/len-deighton/) > [“England's civil war had ended in a consensus as the English discovered that they hated foreigners more than they hated their own countrymen.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/len-deighton/england-s-civil-war-had-ended-in-a-consensus-as-the-english/) [Len Deighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/len-deighton/) > [“Why do these people love you, Archer? Is it simply because you show little or no response to their affection?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/len-deighton/why-do-these-people-love-you-archer-is-it-simply-because-you-show/) [Len Deighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/len-deighton/) > [When old men decided to barter young men for pride and profit, the transaction was called war.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/len-deighton/when-old-men-decided-to-barter-young-men-for-pride-and-profit-the/) [Len Deighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/len-deighton/) > [The tragedy of marriage is that while all women marry thinking that their man will change, all men marry believing their wife will never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/len-deighton/the-tragedy-of-marriage-is-that-while-all-women-marry-thinking-that/) [Len Deighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/len-deighton/) > [“For fear is so unwelcome that it comes only in disguise, and guilt is its favourite one.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/len-deighton/for-fear-is-so-unwelcome-that-it-comes-only-in-disguise-and-guilt-is/) [Len Deighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/len-deighton/) > [Writers are frequently asked why they wrote their first book. A more interesting answer might come from asking them why they wrote their second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/len-deighton/writers-are-frequently-asked-why-they-wrote-their-first-book-a-more/) [Len Deighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/len-deighton/) > [“When they ask me to become president of the United States I'm going to say, "Except for Washington D.C.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/len-deighton/when-they-ask-me-to-become-president-of-the-united-states-i-m-going/) [Len Deighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/len-deighton/) > [“Enrolment is tricky. You are telling lies to highly skilled liars.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/len-deighton/enrolment-is-tricky-you-are-telling-lies-to-highly-skilled-liars/) [Len Deighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/len-deighton/) > [“Or was the truth - like so many truths - not any one of the envisaged possibilities?”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/len-deighton/or-was-the-truth-like-so-many-truths-not-any-one-of-the-envisaged/) [Len Deighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/len-deighton/) > [Capitalism is the exploitation of man by man. Well socialism is exactly the reverse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/len-deighton/capitalism-is-the-exploitation-of-man-by-man-well-socialism-is/) [Len Deighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/len-deighton/) > [“Anyone can write one book; for instance even politicians do it! Starting a second book reveals an intention to be a professional writer”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/len-deighton/anyone-can-write-one-book-for-instance-even-politicians-do-it/) [Len Deighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/len-deighton/) > [“Perhaps hell is like that; a discordant confusion of anxious souls. Some argued, some slept, some shouted, some wept, some wrote, some sketched and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/len-deighton/perhaps-hell-is-like-that-a-discordant-confusion-of-anxious-souls/) [Len Deighton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/len-deighton/) [Explore all 29 Len Deighton quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/len-deighton/) ## More Growth quotes > [My coach, Robert Allen, helped me a lot. 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