Hmm, the relationship between capitalism and intellectualism is a complicated one, I think. The point of academia, I take it, was to protect intellectuals from politics and money-grubbing, just as the Church was supposed to separate monks from the sad realities of feudalism and medieval brutality.

But capitalism's become so powerful, especially in the US that it's broken down the walls not just of academia but of government. Those are signs the country's turning into a plutocracy. Money can come to govern everything, even how intellectuals work in academia. This is the professionalization of academic fields, the publish-or-perish mentality, the loss of tenure, the flooding of the institutions with administrators and powerless part-time instructors.

Philosophy has its own problems too, as you suggest. Technology also has broken down barriers, opening up the discourse for everyone. Philosophy's competing with the masses who are empowered by the internet and social media.