It isn't just academia but one can say the same thing about journalism where well-paying jobs are few & so those that have these don't challenge the status quo because the alternative is rather bleak. The question then is how do we fix it? Is the issue supply or demand related?

Fundamentally, to have intellectual freedom, one must have financial freedom either through inherited wealth or doing something else first.
If you read George Orwell's first book, he was very impoverished (this is Down & Out in London & Paris). Such is the life of a writer &..

Someone who seeks to write for the underdog, who often doesn't have money or appreciate the necessary of such writing. It's the same as teaching or social workers or being a stay at home mom. Important social work but economically poorly rewarded/valued.

If you serve those that need you the most, usually the poor, the weak, and the underserved, well, they also don't have the $ to pay. If you serve those who need you the least (wealth management for the ultra wealthy or selling goods/services to them), u'll be better rewarded.