Why do leaders in developing countries fear the loss of folk culture?

There are different reasons for this and different leaders
can fear this loss for different reasons.  Here are two
possibilities:

• If the leaders are only concerned
  with their own power, they may fear that a loss of folk culture will decrease their
  power.  They may get their power from the fact that their family has traditionally had a
  high status in their culture.  For such people, a loss of folk culture would lead to a
  loss of power.


• If leaders truly care about their people,
  they may feel that it is a bad thing for them to lose who they are as a people.  They
  may feel that there are good things about their folk cultures (things that are morally
  good or things that are just important for the sake of tradition).  If they think this
  way, they will not want these good things to be lost as American culture takes over. 
  For example, if your culture emphasizes families taking care of one another, you might
  think this is good and you might not want that tradition to be lost to the more
  individualistic American culture.

Having said
this, you might want to look in your textbook in case it gives you a specific answer
that it wants to see from you.