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A sentence from Kanji in Context:

> 人にはそれぞれ長短があって、それで世の中はうまくいくようにできているのです。

I get that it means something like everyone has individual strengths and
weaknesses, and thus the world can go smoothly. But what does ようにできる mean
here? Is it being used as the potential form of ようにする, i.e. the world can be
made to go smoothly?
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-09-17T15:42:03.767
12854
2013-09-18T11:46:32.273
3848
question
grammar
Meaning of ようにできる
From my intuition, ように binds stronger to the left, and できている means
"accomplished". So ようにできる falls apart into these two.

人には People - それぞれ every one of them - 長短があって have strengths (and weaknesses) -
それで therefore - 世の中は the world - うまくいく smooth-going - ように like such - できている
become - therefore のです.

"Various people each have their strengths (and weaknesses), and this is what
makes the world keep on turning."

The できている I put into "makes" here.
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2013-09-17T16:22:26.733
12855
2013-09-18T11:46:32.273
2013-09-18T11:46:32.273
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answer
> うまくいくようにできている

means something like "[thus] manages to go smoothly".

> But what does ようにできる mean here?

It would be more logical to view ように as connected with うまくいく, not with できている.
うまくいくように is just "[in order] to go smoothly". できている means that the world
actually manages to "go smoothly". できる would sound more like potential "the
would can go smoothly" not specifying whether it actually does so.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2013-09-18T03:24:46.380
12860
2013-09-18T03:24:46.380
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answer