Purpose of に in 一般に

[GenjiMain]

In the sentence 人に親切にすることは一般にいいことだと考えられている, can the に in 一般に be omitted to without affecting the meaning of the sentence? What exactly is the purpose of this に? It feels almost unnecessary to me.

TY.

 

[mdchachi]

In the sentence 人に親切にすることは一般にいいことだと考えられている, can the に in 一般に be omitted to without affecting the meaning of the sentence? What exactly is the purpose of this に? It feels almost unnecessary to me.

TY.

It's the difference between general and generally. It doesn't sound right to me without the に.
It would be like saying Being kind to others is general considered a good thing.