PrepTest 156, Section 1, Question 9
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)
Which one of the following(4 more words not shown)
- AThe arts should(5 more words not shown)
- BPublic funding of(11 more words not shown)
- CPeople's aesthetic choices(6 more words not shown)
- DParticipatory cultural events(6 more words not shown)
- ECulture is a(9 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
They disagree about subsidies, so look beneath their conclusions for a standard they share. A asks what public interest is served, then tries to show benefits. B concedes some benefits but argues that they are not the right kind or sufficient to justify the spending.
What we’re looking for
An answer supported by just one writer won't do. Agreement on the test for justification can coexist with disagreement about whether these subsidies pass it.
Working the answers
- A
A values community benefits beyond aesthetic enjoyment. B's concession about tourism doesn't establish that art should have purposes beyond enjoyment; a benefit can occur without becoming a duty for art to fulfill.
- BCorrect
A's opening demands a public-interest justification. B likewise demands a direct benefit to justify spending taxpayers' money. They disagree about whether arts subsidies supply the necessary benefit, not about whether public spending needs such a justification.
- C
This is B's argument about respecting people's choices. A does not address government selection as an objection or establish that principle.
- D
A links participation to community ties. B does not say participatory cultural events are essential to cohesion. We need support from both writers.
- E
B explicitly denies that culture is a public good like national defense, available to everyone whenever it is available to anyone. This cannot be their shared principle.
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