gesellschaftsgestaltend

English translation: which seeks to influence the shape of society

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
German term or phrase:gesellschaftsgestaltend
English translation:which seeks to influence the shape of society
Entered by: Kevin Pfeiffer (X)

19:43 Aug 7, 2004
German to English translations [PRO]
Social Sciences - Social Science, Sociology, Ethics, etc.
German term or phrase: gesellschaftsgestaltend
"Im globalen Kapitalismus sind die ökonomi-schen Handlungsspielräume einer * gesellschaftsgestaltenden * Politik in der Tatenger geworden."
Kevin Pfeiffer (X)
Germany
Local time: 11:34
which seeks to influence the shape of society
Explanation:
To my ears social engineering has very negative overtones these days, which I don't think are intended in the text. Often you have to elaborate these compound adjectives more fully to get them to make sense in English.
Selected response from:

Armorel Young
Local time: 10:34
Grading comment
I ended up using a version of "shaping society". Thanks to everyone; esp. Colin who went to the trouble of translating the entire sentence.
4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
3 +2which seeks to influence the shape of society
Armorel Young
5Due to the onward march of global capitalism, it has become increasingly difficult for governments t
mckinnc
4socially formative
Dipl.-Ing. Robert Bach (X)
3social engineering
Kim Metzger


Discussion entries: 2





  

Answers


16 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5
social engineering


Explanation:
Maybe you can do something with "social engineering policy."


Kim Metzger
Mexico
Local time: 03:34
Works in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
PRO pts in category: 127
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53 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 3/5Answerer confidence 3/5 peer agreement (net): +2
which seeks to influence the shape of society


Explanation:
To my ears social engineering has very negative overtones these days, which I don't think are intended in the text. Often you have to elaborate these compound adjectives more fully to get them to make sense in English.

Armorel Young
Local time: 10:34
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: English
PRO pts in category: 65
Grading comment
I ended up using a version of "shaping society". Thanks to everyone; esp. Colin who went to the trouble of translating the entire sentence.

Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  ------ (X)
27 mins

agree  Susan Keller
1 hr
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3 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 5/5
Due to the onward march of global capitalism, it has become increasingly difficult for governments t


Explanation:
Rather a loose approach but I hope it gets the gist:

Due to the onward march of global capitalism, it has become increasingly difficult for governments to use economic policy to shape society.

mckinnc
Local time: 11:34
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish
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5 hrs   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5
socially formative


Explanation:
Friends, there are some good ideas so far, but in the given context I believe that "socially formative" is is the most appropriate. Social engineering is more deliberate (as engineering would more than imply), and this does not emerge from the given context.

Dipl.-Ing. Robert Bach (X)
Specializes in field
Native speaker of: Native in EnglishEnglish, Native in GermanGerman
PRO pts in category: 8
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