Normative[1] economics[2] is[3] definitely[4] a[5] thing[6].

[1] https://www.investopedia.com/terms/n/normativeeconomics.asp

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normative_economics

[3] https://corporatefinanceinstitute.com/resources/knowledge/ec...

[4] https://marketbusinessnews.com/financial-glossary/normative-...

[5] https://www.soas.ac.uk/cedep-demos/000_P570_IEEP_K3736-Demo/...

[6] https://www.cairn.info/revue-d-economie-politique-2018-2-pag...

Ideally that'd be true, but many economists are prescriptive and help make policy. (I also don't mean to pick on economists especially; many other intellectual enclaves have contributed to current management philosophies and national policies.)

Explain things to what end? So that we can use those explanations to make economic decisions which they can explain again.

Even the least prescriptive economist is going to be a part of this cycle.

There are economists who try to explain things, but there are also economists who really want to influence policy/politics. It's hard to separate the two. After all, most economists of renown are advocates for some policy they think is best.

Milton Friedman is a good example of an economist who actively tried to influence economic policy