What is the social role of the economist?

Over the course of the last century, two distinct viewpoints developed. The first sees economists primarily as students of society. The second moves beyond study into the realm of social engineering. One of my graduate school mentors referred to this distinction as "economists-as-scholars" versus "economists-as-saviors." Especially when it comes to politics, there’s a world of difference. Before the late 19th century, there weren’t many professional economists with university positions. The few that held such positions were often within faculties of law or philosophy. In fact, economics, or political economy as it was more commonly called, was seen not as a separate discipline, but an extension of humane studies. More commonly, economics was the domain of gentlemen-amateurs who wrote about the foundations of commerce in between their professional pursuits.