To me it read more like they were just acknowledging that a result that fit too neatly into their modern view of the world could be shaped by their own unconsci

To me it read more like they were just acknowledging that a result that fit too neatly into their modern view of the world could be shaped by their own unconscious bias. In general, I think it's safe to assume that social scientists speaking in a scientific context just literally mean "neo-liberal" when they say it, rather than any politically charged meaning.