The Point/Counterpoint Dichtomy

I was introduced to the conceptual dichotomy in the mid-1970's, while I was an Instructor (non-ranked) in Philosophy at College of DuPage in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, a community college.  I had just completed getting an MA in Higher Education at the University of Chicago--taking evening classes.  I persuaded the college through the Public Relations Administrator to permit me to edit a journal in higher education that would present the views and ideas of Instructors about teaching I would then try to circulate among other colleges for support.  We only had one issue!  Anyway, this administrator chose the name for it--Counterpoint.  He explained that since it would offer the ideas of those who taught, not administrators and heads of departments in higher education, the title was descriptive.  If it were an educational journal typical in the field, he said, he would have recommended  Point.  Thus, the conceptual distinction: point/counterpoint.

It turns out that society is built on such a distinction.  The "point" in the social hierarchy are those who head organizations, such as corporations and governments.  They are the CEOs at the very top of the social chain of command.  Whereas, the "counterpoint" is composed of members of the mass media to the extent that they offer critiques of the establishment, and would you believe, the religious clerics and leaders, e.g., Jesus; and the social leaders such as Martin Luther King and Malcolm-X--all of whom serve as the conscience of society.  The counterpoint's mission is to remind those in control of society to "do the right thing," implying they are privy to ethical and moral knowledge.   

It will be seen at once the importance of the distinction.  Those in power, wielding enormous control over the rest of society, must be checked.  Their power must never become "unbridled."  The power of the counterpoint group comes from the people, who upon occasion are motivated to rise up against the established power structure, e.g., during the French Revolution.