Can "Truths" be recycled?

Stuart Ewen, author of "PR!", introduces the ideas of American philosopher William James, a free thinker who proposed a new view on what we as a public perceive to be the truth. Ewen states:

" Truth, insisted James, exists in a perpetual state of flux. It is nothing more than a by-product of human history, an intrinsic out-come of people interacting with their world and elaborating--or disputing--shared assumptions about its terms."(p39)

According to James, the truth is a product of the time era that we live in and reflects what we as a people believe in. Since time is forever changing and people are forever changing then so shall the truth . While this is so, history has a tendency to repeat itself. Though we as a people change, we tend to recycle some of the mistakes that we have made in the past. If this is true, can truths resurface like history resurfaces from time to time.

For instance, there has been talk that the recession that we are facing, shows signs equivalent to those of the great depression. In Monday's issue of Reuters.com, an article written about President Obama's views on the U.S. economy. According to the article, in a statement made by President Obama:

"This is not your ordinary, run-of-the-mill recession. We are going through the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression,"

With such a statement, I raise the question, Are we starting to lose faith in our economy? The same faith that was lost in the economy during the great depression. If the answer is yes, then can it be proven that "truths" can be recycled.