Abstract The extreme inequality in South African education is well-documented by researchers. There is also a rich literature concerned with education for sustainable development (ESD) in the country. The relationship between these two phenomena has, however, been sparsely investigated. Drawing on biopolitical theory and fieldwork conducted in South Africa, this paper queries how ESD programmes handle the lifestyle gap that separates rich and poor populations. The article demonstrates how ESD, through ostensible sensitivity to local ‘realities’, is adjusted to comply with different socio-economic living conditions, and how different roles are assigned to rich and poor in the quest for sustainable development. This differentiation, it is argued, can be understood biopolitically. The paper further argues that the differentiation between populations in rich and poor settings implies a depoliticized notion of local ‘realities’ as something isolated and given, rather than relational and produced. While the overall findings suggest that ESD unfolds through a regime of practice wherein inequality has become effectively normalized, the paper also points to rare disruptive moments where the normal is rendered abnormal. Ultimately it is argued that the South African case is a useful entry-point for discussing generic problems of globally implementing ESD in an enormously unequal world.

中文翻译：

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管理贫富差距？南非可持续发展教育中的生物政治和（ab）正常化不平等

摘要 研究人员充分证明了南非教育中的极端不平等。该国还有大量关于可持续发展教育 (ESD) 的文献。然而，对这两种现象之间的关系的研究却很少。本文借鉴在南非进行的生命政治理论和实地调查，探究可持续发展教育计划如何处理区分富人和穷人的生活方式差距。本文展示了可持续发展教育如何通过表面上对当地“现实”的敏感性进行调整，以适应不同的社会经济生活条件，以及如何在寻求可持续发展的过程中为富人和穷人分配不同的角色。有人认为，这种差异可以从生命政治的角度来理解。该论文进一步认为，富人和穷人环境中的人口差异意味着地方“现实”的去政治化概念是孤立的和既定的，而不是相关的和生产的。虽然总体研究结果表明可持续发展教育是通过一种实践制度展开的，其中不平等已经有效地正常化，但该论文还指出了罕见的破坏性时刻，使正常变得异常。最终有人认为，南非的案例是讨论在一个极其不平等的世界中全球实施可持续发展教育的一般问题的有用切入点。虽然总体研究结果表明可持续发展教育是通过一种实践制度展开的，其中不平等已经有效地正常化，但该论文还指出了罕见的破坏性时刻，使正常变得异常。最终有人认为，南非的案例是讨论在一个极其不平等的世界中全球实施可持续发展教育的一般问题的有用切入点。虽然总体研究结果表明可持续发展教育是通过一种实践制度展开的，其中不平等已经有效地正常化，但该论文还指出了罕见的破坏性时刻，使正常变得异常。最终有人认为，南非的案例是讨论在一个极其不平等的世界中全球实施可持续发展教育的一般问题的有用切入点。