Is this just a moment of collective folly, a wilful blindness to the lessons of the past?

这难道仅仅是一次集体愚行，仅仅是一时对过去经验教训的故意视而不见？

youdao

If that alternative really had been available, then it might be reasonable to conclude that the wild roller-coaster on which Russia has lived for the past decade was unnecessary, perhaps even the result of some collective folly in which western governments colluded.

ECONOMIST: Observing Russia