Two competing philosophies

Laid out in an essay about economics.

For the conservative, people are an asset — in the coldest economic terms, a potentially productive unit of labor. For the progressive, people are a liability — a mouth to be fed, a problem in need of a solution. Understanding that difference of perspective renders understandable the sometimes wildly different views that conservatives and progressives have about things like employment policy.

Emphasis mine.  This difference in how the two philosophies see people needs to be laid out at every turn.  Beat it into people's heads.  We see people as assets and allies.  They see people as slaves and liabilities.