... Could it be that some folks have a vested interest in most people NOT having a real scientific understanding of economics? Could it be that some people STILL have conflicted interests along these lines, and profit from blurring the lines between economic science and economic philosophy?
No. Best you forget about it.

Edit: Could you give me an example of economic science and economic philosophy?
Also, check
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Philosophy_of_science (haven't actually read the page, but should give you an idea of how blurry the line between science and phil. is).