#14 - Global Reference, Point at Issue

[lsatep2024]

Referencing older posts above, in comparative passages - should we be wary of answers that only focus on one passage/don't mention or hint at the content? I got tricked by (B) because it was mentioned in Passage A and Passage B seemed to come to a conclusion that opposed such a statement.

[Dana D]

Hey there,

Comparative passages are a lot like point at issue/point of agreement questions in LR. Generally, if you have an answer choice with a topic that one passage doesn't mention or provide enough evidence to infer the author's position on, then that can't be the correct answer. Sometimes the test will provide a very temping answer choice which perfectly matches for one passage, but not the other - that can't be the right answer then! You always need an answer choice which correctly applies to both passages.

Hope that helps!

[lounalola]

Why isn't answer choice B correct?

[Amber Thomas]

Hi Lounalola!

First, let's sum up our two passages.

Passage A:
Public support of the arts is justifiable, because it increases accessibility to a region's culture, which is an important part of a full life. Arts events and institutions also build social capital, which is a determining aspect of a region's quality of life.

Passage B:
We cannot justify art subsidies for a number of reasons. 1) we cannot guarantee that art would be better; 2) we cannot guarantee more widespread aesthetic enjoyment, and; 3) culture is not a public good that must be made available to everyone.

Our question stem asks us to determine which answer choice our authors would be most likely to disagree about.

Let's take a look at Answer Choice B): "the range of arts organizations that can be reached by public funding and the resulting increase in the diversity of audiences is in itself a justification for such funding."

Although this seems like something the author of Passage A may argue, it actually isn't. The author argues the following:
1) If art is left to the private sector, opportunities to share in a region's cultural life will not be distributed equally, thus missing an important part of a full life.
2) Art builds social capital and helps bind our society together and improve quality of life.

The author of Passage A provides multiple justifications for why art subsidies are useful, and doesn't argue that any one by itself provides sufficient justification. Although we can likely infer from Passage B's argument that their author would disagree with the statement in Answer Choice B, we don't have sufficient justification to say that the author of Passage A would agree with it.

I hope this helps!

[Halfie]

I actually find answer D problematic, although answer B is also clearly wrong because Passage A explicitly disagrees with it at the end of the first paragraph.

Passage B, however, says that tax funded art subsidies will increase tourism. Does this not mean that more people will take advantage of these cultural opportunities? Is the issue here merely the word "many" in the answer?

[Jeff Wren]

Hi Halfie,

Yes, the word "many" is the key for Answer D and why the author of Passage B would disagree. While the author of Passage B does concede that arts subsidies "provide some incidental benefits, such as increasing tourism," the author then goes on to argue that in order for arts subsidies to be justifiable, they "must show that subsides will enable many more people to enjoy works of art that are decidedly better than art that is privately funded" (my emphasis).

The author then goes on to argue that most people would not like the art that is subsidized (even if it is superior in quality) because it is not the kind of art that most people like. While "liking art" is not identical to "taking advantage of cultural opportunities," the author of Passage B would likely assume that most people will not take advantage of these cultural opportunities if most people do not like the art that appears at these cultural opportunities.