>Do any of us really improve?
Yes. Of course. Demonstrably we can find at least one person in all of human experience who has improved. This is probably not what you are really asking.
>Do we learn? Do our views change?
Same as above.
>Does any of it matter?
Ah. Therein lies the rub. It surely matters for the individual, and probably for those in contact with that individual. Where that individual has much influence, it probably matters quite a bit. Think of someone like St Francis of Assisi, for example.
>Is redemption possible?
Now, that sounds like a good theme for a fantasy novel. <g>
But these questions are posed at the level of the individual, and I suspect the OP is as much about Society writ large as about the individual.
I'm a historian and I'm old, which means I've had the opportunity to look at quite a few people and societies. That alone doesn't make my opinion any more valid; I offer it as context.
It looks to me like there has always been a percentage of humanity that I would put into Hillary Clinton's "basket of deplorables". It was a stupid thing to say politically, but she's quite right. This basket includes people who are ignorant (wilfully or not), stupid, or deeply racist/sexist/tribal. It also includes psychopaths and sociopaths. While education and social reform can address a percentage, there's a percentage that will remain unchanged, and every new generation creates a new batch of deplorables. At the same time, every new generation creates a new batch of saints, courageous leaders, and inspiring artists. Let's call them the basket of admirables. And then there's the rest of us: the basket of muddles.
I don't see any evidence that the proportions change much over the centuries, except on two points. One, technological change seems to have made it easier for small groups of people to do greater harm than they could, say, a thousand years ago; yet, it doesn't appear a small group of people can do greater good. Odd.
Two, social reform really does seem to produce significant change, and perhaps here lies your societal redemption. For example, slavery was absolutely the norm in the West until Christianity arrived. The shift didn't happen *because* of Christianity (it was under way in Rome prior to the Christianization of the Empire in the 4thc), but Christianity reaffirmed and gave a moral and theological framework to it that had not existed before. All through the Middle Ages, owning slaves who were Christian was mostly forbidden (there are always exceptions). This got dislocated in the 17thc and after, but I regard that as an aberration. When abolitionist movements gained the upper hand, the arguments were again couched in moralistic and religious terms.
There are other examples, such as the end of serfdom, fair treatment of children, political and economic rights for women, and so on. I also see a general suppression of tribalism as a great good.
So, one can take comfort and hope in these larger changes, or one can despair at chronic warfare and hate crimes. One can be cheered by a Mr Rogers or your philanthropist of choice, or one can be depressed by the loud-mouthed bigot down at the local pub. Especially when we elect one.
I did try to change the world once, but all my friends got arrested and we didn't really know what the hell we were doing anyway. Now, I just watch the passing parade and try to write good stories.
