Every time I'm not reading, I'm thinking about reading.
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As a broad statement, Henderson introduces the archetypes below.
In most societies, people fall into one of three roles: the masses, the experts, and the elites.
Experts are those who know things. This can be seen by their credentials, technical precision, method of argument. They care about being right.
Elites are those who are judged not on technical knowledge but rather wealth, looks, taste, social fluency, etc. They often talk to other elites which don't necessarily need to be from the same field but rather with the same sense of status.
Experts and elites are on two ends of a spectrum.
In a way, elites can overrule expert opinion, especially with issues that can rally society or have emotional weight.
A lot of elites were also experts first, starting from academics that backed their promotions to higher up positions. Elites' acute sense for framing and audience allows them to lead the conversation.
Both of these archetypes serve different functions. Henderson actually sums this up quite well
Expert talk is for getting to the truth. Elite talk is for getting things to move... There is mutual envy: experts want reach, elites want credibility.