If we blame the author for a work focusing on an abstract topic not directly concerned with injustices happening at the time, no scientist or philosopher should have done anything since no one would be free of guilt by that measure (including, of course, us forum commenters).

I doubt humans can even socially function (let alone progress) if we let the countless injustices happening every second occupy the entirety of our minds at all times—and it is the seemingly abstract works in philosophy, science that lay the necessary foundation for concrete progress that hopefully contributes to resolving those injustices.

That said, is this just an elaborate justification for my own inaction? Should it be the next obvious thing that used to be unthinkable to talk about (like racial equality in the early times of chattel slavery) that a conscious person ought to withhold meaningful but not-directly-helping contributions to humanity until—I don’t know the exact measure here—say, the world is free of suffering and violence?