PrepTest 156, Section 1, Question 14
Passage A What public interest is served by(488 more words not shown)
Passage A(241 more words not shown)
Passage B(255 more words not shown)
The authors would be most(5 more words not shown)
- Amost people would(25 more words not shown)
- Bthe range of(26 more words not shown)
- Cmost people, if(15 more words not shown)
- Dtax-funded subsidies for(20 more words not shown)
- Eart that is(12 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
Do subsidies actually bring more people into cultural life? A's access argument says that leaving things to private spending shuts some people out, so public funding expands opportunities. B doubts that government-selected art will attract wider enjoyment, because its choices won't match what most people want.
What we’re looking for
This is a disagreement about the expected result of funding. Keep it separate from whether the funded art is better or whether people would willingly pay more taxes.
Working the answers
- A
Neither writer surveys taxpayers' willingness to pay. A defense of subsidies is not evidence that most people would consent to higher taxes under this condition.
- B
A expressly says that the range of organizations and diversity of audiences are “not enough” by themselves. A goes on to offer access and social-capital arguments. This answer attributes to A a sufficient justification that A has already rejected.
- C
We don't know what most people would choose to do with extra discretionary income. B's suggestion that people could choose art for themselves leaves that choice open.
- DCorrect
A expects subsidies to give people opportunities that private funding leaves unavailable. B doubts “more widespread aesthetic enjoyment” and expects government choices to miss most people's tastes. Those positions point in opposite directions on whether subsidies lead many more people to take advantage of cultural opportunities.
- E
A's case does not depend on publicly funded art being aesthetically superior. B discusses quality, but we lack the corresponding claim from A needed for a disagreement.
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