I find this question very interesting and have thought about it a lot. With some politicians the question was: are they just stupid or deceitful and bad, as in evil-ish? I now think there are groups of people who know full well, what they do is wrong. Wrong by most standards one could think of, including the long term health of the planet. Including effect on other people. Including what the majority would think if they knew exactly what these are up to. While some here made very good points about the jing jang character of every normal person's good/bad stuff, as just part of being human, I think there are such things as crimes against humanity, or better still crimes against life. Not talking about normal criminals here, who often have their own code of ethics, or have screwed up, or something. Talking about what is called the kabal, or the military industrial complex with the string pullers. These know full well they are not doing good by any standard. Other than their own power.

I consider myself both good and bad. I'm good at times and I'm bad at times, or as I like to put it, I'm a nice asshole.

Yin and yang, it's about embracing both sides of yourself to maintain balance and learning the right situations to display your good or your bad. If you are nice to everyone no matter what, then you will be walked all over and stabbed in the back. If you are mean to everyone no matter what, then people will hate you and will literally stab you in the back, or at least want to.

For a happy and well balanced life it is important to embrace yourself for all that you are. Everyone has a mean side, even those who bury it deep down. However, those people are very stressed in their life due to not expressing their displeasure when needed, because they are too afraid to come off as rude or mean.

I can only speak for myself. I think I am a good man. Flawed but Good Inside.

I'm good most of the time, but I think we are all capable of being assholes. We are still just dumb primates.

No and yes, baring psychopaths and the like, people feel guilt. You would only put yourself through negative emotions if you had a good reason right? Well different people have differing opinions on what is a good reason. Along side this, people have differing opinions on what good and evil are, vegans for example can think killing animals is as bad as killing a human, but someone who eats meat, enjoys eating meat and sees animals as something lower than what the vegan does, can't empathize, they can revel in this "evil" without guilt because they have differing morals.

Now people who revel in being something they think is bad themselves, simply have little to no empathy (along the lines of psychopathy). They have no reason to feel guilt, so they can shamelessly enjoy doing bad things.

I’m no fucking good and never have been. - Al Pacino - Scent of a Woman

I personally believe everybody has evil thoughts in their head from time to time...the difference is only the ones that act on them are truly evil...

Sociopathic people..narcissistic personality disorder..people that don't think about others feelings or emotions...are people that can't feel on many levels..so they get enjoyment out of others pain and suffering...you can't grow a conscious...it's a fact..

I would say most of us think we are the hero of Our Own Story,

I'm a borderline sociopath, but I am not evil. I am not good either. I think "good" and "evil" are not very good measures for people. We're a bit more complex.

Some people do embody in the idea of being evil.
However as we dwell deeper into free-thinking not bound by religious laws and false beliefs we can understand evil is a subjective concept and people are just selfishly following their ideals with no thought of consequences or goal. There is a purpose to helping others and doing the “right” thing. One mind can not overcome chains of life like 50 minds can.

I think it’s better to think in terms of healthy and unhealthy. Our world is mostly unhealthy so it’s very difficult for people to lead healthy lives even though they’d like to. In many cases it’s hard to even determine what healthy is. But most don’t kill, or steal, and would offer a hand to someone who has fallen. Fear, feeling harried, having a bad day, or just being unaware can cause attitude contrary to our better nature. Perception of our intent is often harsher than our actual intent.

I don't real buy into the good and evil concept; rather I see it as the degree of empathy and the capacity of altruism one has toward other human and the world in general.

I think I am a good person, with good intent - mostly.

That said, I also think we all have that bad/mean/evil side. Some are better than others at keeping it all in check, and balanced. Sometimes, a certain situation or person will trigger our other side and it will be loosed on the world for a while.

And for some, their perspectives of life in general are so skewed, they perceive their own "badness" as something useful to be nurtured along and acted upon !

it's all to do with perspective

My first "boyfriend" was brought up catholic. Of course he was gay, I mean he dated me and i am a guy too. Anyway, i was shocked when he told me he thought everyone was evil at heart and there ws no such thing as a good hearted person. So, his religious background really fucked up his view of life and people in general. Anyway, he just treated me worse and worse until i finally lefft him. In his mind his world view was confirmed, but in my mind, his actions determined how those aroudn him behaved.

So, is a person who does nto believe4 people are good, evil themselves? At the tiem I'd have said he was more evil in nature than good. In retrospect, when I got past the heartache, I think it was his upbringing in religion which made him so hard hearted and messed him up. He was not really a sociopath, although he may have acted like one.

I think most persons whose behavior can be cate4gorized as "evil" were taught to think that way, via emotional and/or physical abuse. There are exceptions, the sociopaths and psychopaths of the world, who simply do not feel empathy, however, even most of those live functional lives in society.

The concept of good and evil is rooted in superstition. I try to judge things (myself included) as wise or foolish.
I think some have no regard for others and feel justified at seeking their own advantage at the expense of others. I don't know how they got that way but I am certain that they will not achieve what they really seek in that manner. What we are all seeking is something called happiness. Greed won't get it. Wisdom will.

I think I'm good most of the time, I know I'm not perfect and I don't set out to purposely do anyone harm.

Unfortunately, I have some of the same fears as you do.

I sincerely wonder if some of the powers that be are intentionally evil simply because they can be.
I believe some of them are truly mentally unstable and could use treatment because they are sociopaths if not full-blown psychopaths.

They should also be removed from their positions immediately.

Nothing to back this up, strictly anecdotal, but for what it's worth... I think most people without pathology or psychosis or sociopathy think that they are either (1) good, (2) trying to be as good as possible under the circumstances, or (3) justified in whatever bad stuff they do which they believe will lead to a greater good. People who know they are bad get born again.