Euro-centric institutions have defined what is folk music and what is classical music as music from that is composed by European people. All else is "other".

Dividing the world of music in this way has political, pyschological, and economic implications that I'm not happy with.

We {people of color} are the world. But European people are the world also.

And so-on one level-the term "World music" is indeed a misnomer and an artificial construct. And also on one level it is a 'racist' term.

However, you work with the world you're in and not the world you wish you were in.

I accept the fact that 'World music' is a hodge-podge 'category' for different genres of music from non-European cultures. I welcome the musical fusion of different cultures such as the Afro-Celtic music and the East-Indian/dancehall Reggae music. I recognize that there are few [if any] musical genres that are pure. And that doesn't bother me in the least.

I believe that the purpose of this catch-all "World Music" category is to introduce folks throughout the world to a multitude of different music that we otherwise might not have been aware of.

Once introduced to this music, some folks will find music that they like, and some won't. It bes that way sometimes.

But some people might discover that they do like certain music within that hodge podge category. And they may like that music so much that eventually they move to the next level of understanding in which they find out the name of that type of music, and then seek out other examples of that music. Hopefully, they will then support the artists who compose and perform that music by purchasing their CDs. And because they found out that they liked that music, maybe they will take a chance and purchase another type of music from that same continent of from another continent. And maybe they will even take the time to learn a little about the cultures from which those musical forms originated.

And then, maybe just maybe, if the person is a musician he or she will start to take risks and experiment with 'fusing' the music traditions of his culture with that of this 'foreign' culture that he or she is just learning about.

And eventually-who knows?- we will realize that all music really is World music since "We-all of us-are the World".