I think this is true for the sciences as well but it is more evident in math. Mathematicians could hypothetically exist in a system where they are funded by art

I think this is true for the sciences as well but it is more evident in math. Mathematicians could hypothetically exist in a system where they are funded by artificial scarcity. I don't know how practical that is but they tend to exist in a more patronage-like system. Outside of a number of areas of math that have applications where people will pay for their services, mathematical research is primarily a "patronage" system, where society is willing to pay for pure mathematical research at universities. There are a lot of examples of this in society.