The Generative Crisis.

"Wars, economic shocks, and other events may also provoke a generative crisis - one that shakes up older institutions and creates the opening for new choices about previously settled rules and practices. World War I was a generative crisis for communications in many of the countries drawn into conflict......The more a society is tied to the world economy, the more likely constitutive moments will arise from changes in international communication regimes - that is, the norms and policies institutionalized in various kinds of international agreements, such as those governing copyright telecommunications, and the broadcast spectrum." -- Paul Starr, Introduction, Creation Of Media, Page 7.

The world as we know it, whether it may be in a social, economical, or political form, affects the practices of the past which greatly help to change the rules of the future. These changes occur when there is a generative crisis, a crisis that challenges those "old school" rules and makes way for the beginnings of new, exciting, and more advanced ideas and theories. The past helps us to question and to learn about what works and what does not....while life changing events such as wars or economic downspirals show us what what can be changed. World War I is an example of this generative crisis' because it brought together many countries in terms of communication. Since these countries were forced to communicate because of war, this lead to more advanced technology, causing the people of the world to see the news of it all on their radios at home. When society is connected with major social, economic, and political occurances, there is more chance for everything to change. All the things we experience cause us to learn and to change the wrong things so we can make everything easier and better in the future. The generative crisis is an example of that.