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Is humanity good or evil? It is true that without the constraints of an axiomatic, benevolent society, people often become savage; often due to scarcity ("Desperate times call for desperate measures."). But are they evil?
Defining and Understanding Evil
In order to answer this question, we first must analyze the properties of "evil" and the behavior of "evil" individuals.
First and foremost, evil is NOT equivalent to chaos (an assumption made by many and an assertion made by William Golding-- a writer famous for his novel Lord of the Flies). We can agree that evil is the opposite of good, but now we have two unknowns. What is good? What is evil?
You're probably thinking, "Well, good is moral," but what makes something moral?
If you ask a modern philosopher, you might get a response like this:
Any act that is truly moral will positively affect society without imposing upon the freedoms of an individual.
It's not a perfect definition, but it's definitely a start. If something that is moral causes a positive change to our society without restricting anyone's freedom, then it is agreeably good. Conversely, if something causes a negative effect on society that also restricts someone's rights (e.g. Murder; which takes away from the workforce and restricts that individual's right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness), it could be considered evil.
Beyond Good and Evil
Now that we have a sense of what good and evil mean, let's return to our original question: Are humans innately good or innately evil? The answer still isn't clear. On one hand, humans tend to fall into a state of barbaric disorder when you take society out of the equation, but does that make them evil? Without a society to positively affect, all they have left is to fulfill their freedoms as individuals.
A Two-Dimensional View
When asked about good and evil, most acknowledge a gray area between the two extremes. It might look something like this:
While this is certainly a good representation of "good" and "evil," our question of whether mankind is truly good or evil requires the use of a two-dimensional view: not just good and evil, but also how orderly or anarchic we are.
People have a tendency to associate disorder and chaos with immorality and evil, but while they may commonly occur together, they are two mutually exclusive words (regardless of connotation). A lawful person is someone who acts in accordance to what society expects of him/her, while a chaotic person acts with a disregard of what society expects of them.
Thus, a graphical view of looking at humanity might look like this:
Former and present Dungeons and Dragons players are probably feeling nostalgia right about now. In order to truly classify a society (or a person within our society), we must use more than one word and make more than one judgment.
A schizophrenic serial killer who murders people for little (if any) reason is inarguably chaotic evil, while someone who persistently thinks about helping others within the confines of the law and without incentive would be lawful good.
In order to be lawful, one must submit themselves to authority and work with the rules. As people tend to associate evil with chaos, our archetypal good/evil axis tends to look more like this:
This is incorrect, however, as it is just as possible to be lawful evil or chaotic good.
So Which Are We?
It's hard to determine without proper scientific study. If you want a definitive answer, create an anarchy in which-- by some mechanical means-- our basic human necessities (shelter, food, water, etc.) are provided for without any effort or insecurity and study the behavior of the members of this society. After three or four generations, you'll have a definitive answer to your question.
Personally, I think we lean more towards the gray area of neutrality. While our authorities (both religious and political) try to nudge everyone towards the lawful (good) side, other factors (scarcity, rebellious attitudes, etc.) distribute us all over the place. If I were to make a prediction, I would think that a graph of humanity's distribution on this graph would form a 3-Dimensional bell curve.
Paradoxes?
It is important to remember that we cannot predict the future, and acts with good intentions may have bad results. Accidents happen; it's often the intent that defines the nature of an act.
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