"Because the word draws attention to something systematic that can be examined..."

And there's the rub. Is the work of anthologists and collectors from Percy to Lloyd, in its entirety, a 'systematic process' that can also be applied to all the rest, from Alan Lomax to Jim Carroll? I don't believe so. If one accepts that all of the above are elements in a concerted effort by the bourgeoisie to appropriate and misrepresent 'workers' culture' then Harker's concept of 'mediation' has some validity. If not, the house of cards comes crashing down.

Otherwise we're in broad agreement, I think.