I am indeed speaking at a very high level of generality here. I run together philosophers, spiritualists, artists, introverts, some of the mentally ill, and sophists, among others as part of the intellectual elite.

The key distinction is whether someone runs with the intellect or ignores intellectual matters. Reckoning with the intellect can certainly take us in different directions, such as towards philosophical/spiritual/artistic authenticity or towards cynical hackery and defense of the status quo. Different groups of elites will have their respective problems.

Indeed, some intellectuals are more practical than others. There's the difference between book smarts and street smarts.

I have another article coming out next week exploring academia and other modern ways of incorporating intellectual elites.