A glimpse at the dynamics.

The human brain allows reasoning, but it does not guaruntee that reasoning will necessarily guide one's actual behavior. It takes a great deal of will or something particularly dramatic to override deeply ingrained behavioral patterns that result from an entire lifetime of conditioning.

This is why people without will power don't learn from their mistakes.

For these people it is always something particularly dramatic that draws them into social unrest, and more often than not it's something that is in some shape or form a direct affront to their deeply ingrained behavioral patterns. And in droves they will settle down and return to their normal routines once the crises that stirred them is resolved.

And this is why people with will power are so dangerous.

For these people a line of reasoning alone is enough to draw them into social unrest, and once they've committed to the reasoning, rarely can they be quieted. Moreover, a line of reasoning can spread like wildfire, and no amount of negotiating or violence can break the will of the torchbearers.

Nothing new, I know, but as I said earlier, time doesn't change things as much as you'd think or hope it would.