Vic, In my opinion the Radio Ballads celebrated work and culture of the past and of the 50s. They celebrated a spirit and cultures in decline, no whining, but a portrayal of working people dealing with life as it was independently......a big difference from changing the system into some command economy totalitarianism, or as is happening here, ever more state dependence and abdication of personal responsibility.
MacColls writing was excellent but his politics....I suppose encouraged by Seeger, were simply wrong.
The main point though is that the young "folkies" like Dylan and co did not wish to be trapped in the political stranglehold espoused by the older generation of American and UK politically inspired performers. These young performers went on to fame, inspiring a generation, while the Seegers and MacColls are forgotten except in backwaters like this.