Repetition, according to Hegel, plays a crucial role in history: when something happens just once, it may be dismissed as an accident, something that might have been avoided if the situation had been handled differently; but when the same event repeats itself, it is a sign that a deeper historical process is unfolding.
When Napoleon lost at Leipzig in 1813, it looked like bad luck; when he lost again at Waterloo, it was clear that his time was over.
The same holds for the continuing financial crisis. In September 2008, it was presented by some as an anomaly that could be corrected through better regulations etc; now that signs of a repeated financial meltdown (the USA trillions in debit, France bankrupt, and the 'Club Med' countries Portugal, Greece, Spain broken at the wheel of EU idealogues) are gathering it is clear that we are dealing with a structural phenomenon.
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