The idea that economics is formulated as it is to protect the status quo, or to justify the distribution of wealth and power is only partially correct. Economists have a lot to say that elites do not want to hear. The political class, in fact, routinely ignores economists' prescriptions, eg a carbon tax.
Instead, I would say that:
(1) on some issues there is a diversity of opinion among economists and so people pick and choose their ecomist to justify their position
(2) non academic employed economists' pronouncements tend to reflect the interests of their employers (for variety of reasons)
(3) as a class economists defend not the status quo but an ideology that justifies that status quo. for example pareto optimal policies dont really work out when distributions are already highly unequal.
Instead, I would say that:
(1) on some issues there is a diversity of opinion among economists and so people pick and choose their ecomist to justify their position
(2) non academic employed economists' pronouncements tend to reflect the interests of their employers (for variety of reasons)
(3) as a class economists defend not the status quo but an ideology that justifies that status quo. for example pareto optimal policies dont really work out when distributions are already highly unequal.