Those who ignore history are condemned to repeat it.
I prefer Marx's version, that "history repeats itself, first as tragedy, then as farce"[1]
1: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Eighteenth_Brumaire_of_Lou...
And those who think they know history are condemned to repeat that phrase.
/s I agree with the proverb, just being cheeky
Book 8 of Plato's Republic is also on point in describing the transition from democracy to tyranny.