ABSTRACT
Assuming that there are no intrinsic ethical grounds for condemning biotechnology and genetic engineering,1 the moral status of these practices can only be determined by an evaluation and assessment of their expected consequences. In theory, such an assessment should not be too difficult to carry out, since the advantages and disadvantages of gene-splicing techniques are fairly well publicized.2 in practice, however, the situation is different. The actual consequences of applying advanced molecular biology depend upon the social and political setting in which the application takes place. As different groups of people hold different views concerning the structure and dynamics of social and political life, these groups inevitably also disagree upon the consequences of the development of recombinant DNA techniques.
