On many specific issues, intellectual elites are actually more pro-freedom than most others. @bryan_caplan has some good stats on this. Recommend reading The Myth of the Rational Voter.

The Myth of the Rational Voter by @bryan_caplan -- "The median American is a moderate national socialist – statist to the core on both economic and social policy. Given public opinion, the policies of First World democracies are surprisingly libertarian."