"Prog, Jazz, Pop, Classical etc. are musics defined by the people who make it. Folk, OTOH, was a music defined by the people who perceived & collected it. A very crucial difference."

Yes, I do get that, in fact it was exactly my point. Folk is one minority interest music amongst many, but its minority status has nothing to do with Cecil Sharp or alleged bourgeois imperialism.

NB Alan Conn's comment about the folk demographic in his locality. There were several regulars at Manchester folk clubs who would have punched anyone who called them middle class.