Majority of museums require payments for entrance, while others don’t. Frankly, even though there are some sensible drawbacks of that trend, the positive sides are more prevalent.
On the one hand, there are some obvious negative aspects in charging people for the museum visits. First of all, it may have a negative effect on people from lower classes’ perception of art. Many galleries’ entrance fees are too high for an average employee, thus it could possibly discourage maintaining interest in art. For instance, for an average office worker with low earnings visiting art galleries is already not a priority; those which aren’t free especially will be out of his or her nearest plans. Secondly, some people can consider such an approach from museums as hypocritical demeanor. Some believe that art is a concept made by people for people, and thus, should be available for everyone; and charging people to have a chance to behold the beauty of it is changing the whole meaning of this concept.
On the other hand, society can’t turn a blind eye on the advantages of this development. Firstly, museums, being one of a tourist attractions, are a great source of earnings for a country. Economical state of a given country is only benefiting from paid museums, consequently benefiting local inhabitants too. Secondly, it is pretty fair for artists and collectionists to require payment for their hard work. Their huge contribution to the art society cannot be neglected, thus they deserve not only credits, but also earnings from their job.
In conclusion, although I understand the negative attitude towards paid museums, this development’s positive aspects outweigh its possible drawbacks.