ran the Royal Mint (and as such was in fact deeply concerned with the "role of money in society" - to significant practical effect at the time)

This would be the precise point that immediately occurred to me too. So no, it's not just you.

Tyrrell seems correct about the point being made, but nevertheless this wasn't a great example.

It couldn't possibly be that your abysmal ignorance of modern evolutionary theory is so total that you can't tell the difference between a carburetor and a radiator. That's unthinkable. No, the other guy - you know, the one who's studied the math - is just too dumb to see the connections.

This is the point at which it became apparent that this is one of those EY essays where I think "so who annoyed him in this particular way?" It appears to be the sort of essay that's a reaction to (or, more generously, strongly inspired by) a particular incident or person, rather than a careful attempt to speak much more broadly. This does not make it incorrect or not useful; it is, however, important in trying to sufficiently duplicate the conditions in the writer's head to understand it properly.