Many museums charge for admission while others are free. Do you think the advantages of charging people for admission to museums outweigh the disadvantages? Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

Nowadays, how people should be allowed to access museums is a controversial issue. In many museums, visitors are charged for admission. It would appear that this is beneficial. On the one hand, perhaps the key supporting argument is that while public budgets are under tremendous pressure today, it is imperative that governments allocate money for issues that are of paramount importance such as education and health. This means that authorities should subsidize what are high priorities for everyone rather than what is the interest of a limited group of societies. In addition, free entry to museums tend to result in overcrowding which can ultimately lead to discouraging individuals who are real enthusiasts of museums. Thirdly, money generated from entry fees compensates for governments' insufficient budgets. This enables them to subsidize and develop, for example, educational system and health care services. On the other hand, free entry would encourage more people to visit museums which would promote their knowledge about the history and heritage of their country. It is obvious that this could lead to improving the national identity of people. Secondly, there may be persons who love visiting museums while they cannot afford it. Hence, making visiting museums affordable for all income groups would seem to be justifiable. Therefore, the more museums would be free, the more individuals might be able to reap the benefit of them. To sum up, although it might be true that free admission can enhance national pride and equality, these are outweighed by the contribution which the money generated from admission fees can make to the wellbeing of a society.