This article links the prospects of sustainable development to democratic socialism and those forms of knowledge and learning developed by the global anti-capitalist movement. While socially critical approaches to education for sustainable development (ESD) can accommodate these forms, they are marginalised by New Labour's policies on sustainable development and education. Contradictions between neo-liberalism and social democracy in these policies explain why ESD has made limited progress and suggest the kinds of initiatives and ESD indicators the UK government is likely to favour. The article establishes the policy context for a second article that focuses on how the UK ESD community responded to the author's report on possible approaches to an ESD indicator, commissioned by the Sustainable Development Commission.