Simon Klys (asker) Apr 6, 2017:

Thanks everyone for the discussion around this one!

Nikolaj Widenmann Apr 6, 2017:

Optimism I understand "tro på tingene" as being more of a sense of optimism (i.e., about how things are going). There are plenty of Google hits (40K+) for "tro på tingene". Though most of them are sports-related, they generally express a sense of optimism.
I would avoid 'faith in the system' since that is more specific than general optimism. I would also avoid "belief in things" because it is really too vague and does not seem to evoke the same sense of optimism.

Thomas T. Frost Apr 6, 2017:

Belief As Diarmuid says, "tro på tingene" may well refer to everything he suggests in this context, and it is most likely something like that the writer wanted to say.

My own suggestion deliberately limits the translation to exactly what is expressed in the source.

It is always tempting to make the translation 'better' than the original, but we should be careful how much we interpret, elaborate and extend what the original actually says without the client's approval.