Where do you stand on the question of an author's responsibility to the public?

Call me esoteric, but I think all human beings have an obligation to right social wrongs and promote the common good. I don't think authors have a larger responsibility than anyone else, but I'm heartened that most do attempt to do just that. Also; you don't sit all alone for hours on end, pounding away at the keyboard without a healthy ego intact, and our ego's do include an eye toward posterity even as they attempt to reflect the times they/we live in.