كثيرًا ما تُنتج أفعال البشر في التاريخ نتيجةً إضافية تتجاوز ما يقصدون إليه ويحصّلونه، وما يدركونه ويريدونه مباشرةً. إنهم يُشبعون مصالحهم الخاصة، لكنّ شيئًا آخر يتحقق بذلك، كامنًا في تلك الأفعال، غير حاضر في وعيهم، ولم يكن داخلًا في مقصدهم.

“In history an additional result is commonly produced by human actions beyond that which they aim at and obtain -- that which they immediately recognize and desire. They gratify their own interest; but something further is thereby accomplished, latent in the actions in question, though not present to their consciousness, and not included in their design.”Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel — The Philosophy of History (2012)