At the 70th UN General Assembly world leaders adopted “Transforming our World - the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. The narrative of the outcome document is clear and paradoxical. We have globally never been richer and more prosperous. And at the same time world leaders stated that the “biological support systems of the planet is at risk” and the economic development is not delivering equality and certainty for all people. It also stated that this is a time of “immense opportunity”. The challenges can be solved if nations, corporations and people work together. When analyzing the outcome document it is clear the basic barrier for sustainable development is human motivation to cooperate and taking into account people and places outside ones near sphere. The barrier to sustainability is the tragedy of the commons both in terms of institutions and resources. There is a tendency of humans not factoring in the future in the decisions we take. The idea of sustainable development (SD) as agreed poses some very fundamental questions about handling ideals and the reality of the world we are living in. What are the nature of human being and the role of education in relation to the ideals? Is human nature based on optimization of self-interest? Or is human nature much more generous, cooperative and altruistic? The answer is probably that human nature is contingent and that public communicated narratives, institutions and education matter. We live in a world where the values reflected in the outcome document are under pressure. Post factual information thrives on the internet and in the media and there is a high level of mistrust to authorities. Various actors finance information and constructed realities advocating for actions far from the ideals of SD. The educational answer should be a continuous effort to promote enlightenment of citizens to practical wisdom for handling information and knowledge of the mediated reality of modern society. This requires the ability to critical reflection on information and knowledge as well as the ability to reflect on ethical dilemmas involving the future and people far away. It requires the ability to understand the priorities and trade-offs decisions on SD raise. And it requires the ability to organize and act together. Lastly it requires the ability to a reflective understanding of the psychological reactions (overconfidence, polarizing, disavowal, ignorance, mistrust) one has when confronted with real and mediated narratives on risks and dangers.

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