So people should never be allowed to advocate societal changes in which they have a personal interest?
I think this is unnecessarily rigid. All we really need is full disclosure of the nature of the personal interest, which appears in this case to have been provided.
I don't know how the author is supposed to complete this research, or even continue it, without funding. To bar him from advocating for such funding risks the loss of important advocacy from those who are in the best position to know what is going on.
I guess you have half a point in that there is some risk of research scientists just collecting a salary and never producing much of value, even though they claim loudly that their research is important; such things have happened. But I think it's a chance we have to take. Anyway, the best protection against it is not to tell people like the OP to shut up, but to look closely at their work and decide on our own how valuable we think it is.
I think this is unnecessarily rigid. All we really need is full disclosure of the nature of the personal interest, which appears in this case to have been provided.
I don't know how the author is supposed to complete this research, or even continue it, without funding. To bar him from advocating for such funding risks the loss of important advocacy from those who are in the best position to know what is going on.
I guess you have half a point in that there is some risk of research scientists just collecting a salary and never producing much of value, even though they claim loudly that their research is important; such things have happened. But I think it's a chance we have to take. Anyway, the best protection against it is not to tell people like the OP to shut up, but to look closely at their work and decide on our own how valuable we think it is.