Intellectual Snobbery or Misology: A False Dilemma

There's an interesting discussion at Rational Explications. One of RE's bloggers responded to Jane Smiley's nasty article by making a distinction between people who make their living in the realm of talk (e.g. writers and teachers) and those who make their living in the realm of things (e.g. businessmen and engineers). The problem is that he comes a bit too close to endorsing misology, and that's not a good response to the intellectual snobbery of the left. A better response is to insist that the left live up to its vaunted claims of tolerance and rationality.