This is a point which Lewis explored in fiction, through the trials of Mark Studdock in That Hideous Strength. Studdock has tried all his life to become part of

This is a point which Lewis explored in fiction, through the trials of Mark Studdock in That Hideous Strength. Studdock has tried all his life to become part of that "Inner Ring," whether as a schoolboy, as part of the "Progressive Element" at Bracton, or in the (very ironically acronymmed) N.I.C.E., but, in the process, he has compromised a large part of himself, including his relationship with his wife. (This is the third book in the "Space Trilogy," but it's the one that has the least to do with "space." Instead, it's chock full of Lewis' philosophies; the central theme of the story is straight out of The Abolition of Man. )