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Tonnenideologie

English translation: quantity over quality (approach)

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GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)

German term or phrase:	Tonnenideologie
English translation:	quantity over quality (approach)
Entered by:	Rowan Morrell

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04:12 Nov 30, 2010

German to English translations [PRO]
Medical - Agriculture / Nutrition

German term or phrase: Tonnenideologie

"Weil die Tonnenideologie in der Landwirtschaft, die Fast-Food-Mentalität und der Gebrauch des Mikrowellenherdes überhand nehmen, sind in unserer Nahrung kaum noch Vitalstoffe vorhanden."

Talking about how bad modern nutrition has become (at least, according to this text). I can't make head or tail of "Tonnenideologie", and can't find a translation for it anywhere. TIA for any light you can shed on this extremely strange term.

Rowan Morrell KudoZ activity Questions: 2321 (none open) (48 closed without grading) Answers: 2764
Local time: 13:50

quantity over quality (approach)

Explanation:
As in:

Biodynamic agriculture...differs from conventional agriculture which often promotes a commodity mentality pushing quantity over quality. Conventional agriculture also uses external and unnatural additions, where biodynamics do not.
http://www.gastroanthropology.com/gastroanthropology/biodyna...

Selected response from:

casper

Grading comment

Although I really liked Teresa's suggestion, I think this one does work a little better in my context, as Helen Shiner said. So this answer gets the points, but "more is better" could certainly work in most contexts too. Many thanks - appreciate everyone's help.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer

Summary of answers provided

4 +5

More is better

Teresa Reinhardt

3 +2

quantity over quality (approach)

casper

Supersize me

Mech White

the encouragement of mass production

British Diana

Summary of reference entries provided

'Tonnenideologie' (barrel ideology)

Erich Friese

Found on the www

casper

Discussion entries: 4

Answers

1 hr confidence:

peer agreement (net): +5

More is better

Explanation:
I would circumvent the presumed lack of knowledge about the elaborate context/history of this term on the part of the intended reader (unless this is academic and you can use footnotes) and pick something that just conveys the same notion biger is better or more is better IMO summarizes valuing quantity over quality quite nicely.
I am very sure of this, but I'll pick a more humble level so I don't get flak...

Teresa Reinhardt
United States
Local time: 18:50
Meets criteria
Works in field
Native speaker of:

German,

English
PRO pts in category: 31

3 hrs confidence:

the encouragement of mass production

Explanation:
Is this not what is meant here? battery hens, butter mountains, wine seas etc..

British Diana
Germany
Local time: 03:50
Meets criteria
Native speaker of:

English

10 hrs confidence:

peer agreement (net): +2

quantity over quality (approach)

casper
Meets criteria
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 35

Grading comment

11 hrs confidence:

Supersize me

Explanation:
Maybe you could play with the title of the American movie 'Supersize me' that also discussed these issues, huge sizes with little nutritional value

Mech White
Local time: 03:50
Meets criteria
Native speaker of:

German,

English

Reference comments

55 mins peer agreement (net): -1

Reference: 'Tonnenideologie' (barrel ideology)

Reference information:
I would use the original term within quotation masrks

Als Tonnenideologie wird abwertend eine Produktionsplanung bezeichnet, die ausschließlich einfache, messbare und summierbare Größen vorgibt, ohne dass Nachfrage, Nutzen oder Qualität eine Rolle spielen.

Zentralverwaltungswirtschaft [Bearbeiten]
Der Begriff wurde zur Beurteilung der Zentralverwaltungswirtschaften geprägt. Die Planwirtschaft in den Sozialistischen Staaten legte in den Mehrjahresplänen detailliert fest, welche Produkte in welchen Mengen produziert werden sollten.

Die Planung und auch die Kontrolle der Planerfüllung wurden unter anderem jeweils nach Gewicht (z.B. der produzierten Kohle oder Anzahl der produzierten Produkte erstellt. Aus den Tonnagevorgaben der Schwerindustrie leitet sich der Begriff selbst ab.

Von der offiziellen Propaganda wurde kontinuierlich herausgestellt, welche Personen und Kollektive diese Mengen überschritten hatten. Symbol hierfür war in der DDR Adolf Hennecke, der am 13. Oktober 1948 in einer gut vorbereiteten Schicht 24,4 Kubikmeter Kohle förderte und die Arbeitsnorm mit 387 Prozent erfüllte. Die Qualität der Kohle spielte hierbei keine Rolle. Diese Propaganda kontrastierte mit der bestehenden Mangelwirtschaft.

Folge dieser willkürlichen Anreizsetzung waren Qualitätsmängel und Fehlsteuerungen sowie eine falsche Investitionsstrategie.

Politisches Schlagwort [Bearbeiten]
In der politischen Auseinandersetzung dient der Begriff der Tonnenideologie vielfach als politisches Schlagwort. Mit der Verwendung wird der jeweiligen Gegenseite vorgeworfen, Qualität zu Gunsten von Menge zu vernachlässigen.

Erich Friese
Australia
Meets criteria
Native speaker of:

German,

English
PRO pts in category: 8

3 hrs peer agreement (net): +2

Reference: Found on the www

Reference information:
Found on Google books:
By the end of the decade, party officials began a campaign against "Tonnenideologie" or "Mengenideologie" (ideology of tons or of quantity), which they defined as industry's preoccupation with fulfilling its plans for gross production, finances and productivity as well as its simultaneous neglect of quality and consumers' demands.
http://shortify.com/11509

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Note added at 3 hrs (2010-11-30 07:23:17 GMT)
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The related “ideology of tons” meaning countable quantity and not subtle quality, decided whether the worker has fulfilled his duty of Socialist toil.
http://shortify.com/11510

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Note added at 3 hrs (2010-11-30 07:24:24 GMT)
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"ideology of quantity over quality"
http://shortify.com/11511

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Note added at 3 hrs (2010-11-30 07:27:55 GMT)
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The quality of academic work is now not primarily a matter of increase or progress in knowledge but of measurable performance based on indicators and other characteristics – something like a “ton ideology” (Tonnenideologie). Scholarly productivity and creativity do not directly respond to the economic logic of incentives and output steering. The crucial question is whether the new steering procedures will have any benefits (or which benefits it will have) to the productivity of research, the quality of teaching and the competence level of graduates.
www.boeckler.de/pdf/stuf_proj_leitbild_wolter_2007.pdf

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Note added at 5 hrs (2010-11-30 09:16:00 GMT)
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"mass over class"
http://shortify.com/11513

casper
Meets criteria
Native speaker of:

English
PRO pts in category: 35

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Tonnenideologie

English translation: quantity over quality (approach)

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Tonnenideologie

English translation: quantity over quality (approach)

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