
Potential 2016 candidate Carly Fiorina told business leaders Thursday that the difference between liberals and conservatives can be found in how they view the inherent worth of every person.
“I think the core of conservative philosophy is that every one of us is equal. Every one of us has God-given gifts. No one of us is better than any other one of us,” she told an audience at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, during a morning address on technology and philanthropy in the Lincoln Labs’ Reboot Congress conference. “I don’t think liberals believe that.”
The former CEO of Hewlett-Packard cited her own experience rising from an office secretary to become the first female CEO of a Fortune 50 company as an example of the self-determinism and potential of the “God-given gifts” in everyone. She said this philosophy was fundamentally at odds with liberal government.
“The heart of liberal philosophy, if you look at their actions as opposed to listen to their words… is that actually not everyone is capable,” she said. “Some are smarter than others. Some are better than others. But don’t worry, some of us are going to take care of the rest of us. I think that’s the core of liberal programs.”
Fiorina is the chairwoman of the American Conservative Union Foundation, and will be a host of the annual Conservative Political Action Conference outside Washington, D.C., at the end of the month. Many likely Republican presidential candidates, including Fiorina, Jeb Bush, Rick Perry, Ted Cruz, Bobby Jindal and Rand Paul, are scheduled to speak at the event.
More Must-Reads from TIME
- Inside Elon Musk’s War on Washington
- Introducing the 2025 Closers
- Colman Domingo Leads With Radical Love
- Why, Exactly, Is Alcohol So Bad for You?
- The Motivational Trick That Makes You Exercise Harder
- 11 New Books to Read in February
- How to Get Better at Doing Things Alone
- Column: Trump’s Trans Military Ban Betrays Our Troops
Write to Tessa Berenson Rogers at tessa.Rogers@time.com