I think people disagree because they start from different premises. I think one of the great fallacies of conservative thought is that liberals have no logic to them. Liberals absolutely have a logic to them, it's just that they are starting from an incredibly different premise.

Syndicated columnist and author, Ben Shapiro

[Liberals start] from the premise that there are basically no rights in the individual, all rights reside in the state and it is the job of the state to equally distribute these rights among individuals. Conservatives believe that there are certain inherent rights in the individual and the government no matter how legitimately constructed has no right to violate those rights.

Syndicated columnist and author, Ben Shapiro

once you start from different premises you can make logical arguments on both fronts and people disagree. Law and politics is basically like an iceberg, and what people spend their time arguing over is the 10 percent above the water and they never attack the 90 percent that is below the water even though it is actually the important part.

Syndicated columnist and author, Ben Shapiro

Most people on the right agree that there are certain moral principles which cannot be violated, most people on the left believe that morality is created by the minds of men and is therefore changeable and malleable. These are very significant differences in the way that we see the world, because of basic premises not misapplied logic.

Syndicated columnist and author, Ben Shapiro

when government compensates for the failure of man to take individual responsibility then people will look to government rather than to God

President of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education, Star Parker

Adversity should not be seen as an enemy but as a friend because it causes people to explore deeper truths, to look for greater understanding and to think about eternity ... in homes where people are unemployed, contemplating losing their house and grappling with tough decisions, I guarantee that a whole lot more prayer is going on.

President of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education, Star Parker

in our harder hit communities ... the government makes decisions for them so that they depend on the government rather than their own ingenuity.

President of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education, Star Parker

The reason that conservatives and liberals disagree is because liberals judge their policies by their intentions while conservatives look at their outcomes.

Economist, investment advisor, author and commentator, Peter Schiff

while liberals protest that free market capitalism exploits workers because it allows employers to pay them as little as possible, conservatives point out that the term "possible" isn't absolute because it accounts for competition. In the same way that consumers can't simply hire a plumber at any low rate of their choosing, employers will not find it possible to hire willing workers at any low rate of their choosing.

Economist, investment advisor, author and commentator, Peter Schiff

Liberalism is an intoxicating ideology because its proponents can feel good about themselves without having to do much thinking or investigation. And because of this, it's almost always true that every liberal law results in the exact opposite of its intention.

Economist, investment advisor, author and commentator, Peter Schiff

Economics is more sociology, psychology and philosophy and less math to me. It's the study of human nature and human action. There is often a disconnect between intentions behind policies and their outcomes ... but economics requires sitting down and thinking rationally about things.

Writer and Cato Institute Budget Analyst, Tad DeHaven

Those who live off the wages of others devise many theories on why taxpayers should ante up and send them more money.

President of Americans For Tax Reform, Grover Norquist

Disagreements about truth are motivated by individuals’ needs for self-realisation and are made possible by the inexactness of science – particularly social science.

Professor & Head of QUT's School of Economics and Finance, Tim Robinson

Conservatives prefer to maximize freedom, even if it means sacrificing equality of outcomes – like wealth, education, etc. Liberals prefer to maximize equality, even if it means sacrificing freedom (higher taxes, more government control of economic choices).

Communications Director, Club For Growth, Mike Connolly

A liberal sees a rich person and a poor person, who both work equally hard at their jobs, and sees injustice. A conservative sees the liberal take money from the rich person and give it to the poor person, and sees injustice. They disagree because they’re both right. Liberals are right to believe life isn’t fair. Conservatives are right to believe liberals can’t change that fact.

Communications Director, Club For Growth, Mike Connolly

I believe that there is often wishful thinking about how government works and human beings act. We've seen throughout history how governments with lots of power tend to be corrupt and often fail the people they are supposed to serve.

Independent Women's Forum director and Goldwater Institute senior fellow, Carrie Lukas

The fact that people disagree on what the truth is only demonstrates that there is no objective truth, or at least that we don’t yet know what it is ... Those who are open to reasons why they may be wrong are willing to re-assess their ‘truths’ and take society further. Those who will only consider reasons why they are right, stunt progress.

South African opposition leader and premier of the Western Cape, Helen Zille

when the majority have a good deal of the information through TV, talk radio, and so on, which plays to their emotions and is not necessarily factual, then you get ignorant passion. I have a doctorate degree but having an education doesn't make you smarter than anyone else. In a university environment you're supposed to be taught how to be analytical, to look at things in a critical manner, but I think over time we've discouraged people from being analytical, from looking at it from both angles and saying, for example, "If that was me, would I want to make $200,000 knowing that when I go above a certain threshold my tax bracket jumps up expeditiously?". Too often we get into the emotional responses, not factual responses. I would tell young people to get to know all that they can about a certain subject before making a decision.

Entrepreneur and Chairman of The Frederick Douglass Foundation, Timothy Johnson

[The reason that people disagree about the truth is that in] ... many cases they are operating on different facts. The facts may be be part of a larger story but in many cases people pay attention only to those they like rather than all of the facts which bear on the issue.

Cato Institute Chairman Emeritus and Senior Economist, William Niskanen