1) Vandana Shiva is not Malthus. There also seem (to me) to be some important differences between mainstream western environmental groups and people like Shiva. We have to be a little more discerning here.
2) Isn't almost anyone on an e-mail discussion list relatively privileged? Maybe some people are typing from the public library, but in any case, in countries of Africa, Southern Asia, etc., there is a very different class structure that means that just about any political activist or writer that communicates issues to a Western audience will be privileged in some sense. Ok, so people don't have to take first class, but it is not always clear--to me--where the line should be drawn and when the distinction is useful and when it is not.
There are some catch-22s and some dangers of double standards here, or just a question about what are the most productive issues on which to focus. I can imagine one can set standards in such a way as to end up...well, alone. This may not be the most productive political strategy.
Louis:
I was not aware of anti-marxism on Shiva's part, but she certainly seems anti-capitalist. Generally, she would seem someone who would be included in the kind of broad based coalition you described recently in the ParEcon discussion.
Mat