Contemporary moral philosophy seldom changes the moral views of philosophers, much less the world. By and large, the positions that are advocated reflect the moral views of white, middle-class, liberal academicians living in an affluent, technological society. Even when they express views that divide opinions—say on abortion—one feels that lives are not touched. None of us are fetuses, only half of us are women, and relatively few women will face the decision to abort or not. Any argument about political positions outside the liberal consensus—right-wing libertarianism—takes place in a context that makes it an "academic" question. We are not about to abolish or drastically limit the state collectively, and there seems to be little we can do individually.
(Gerald Dworkin, "Making Meats End," review of Animal Liberation, by Peter Singer, The American Scholar 45 [autumn 1976]: 594, 596-7, at 594)
