Are People Basically Good or Bad

I pose this question for all of you to think about and answer for yourselves: are people basically good or bad? We see human-caused disasters and these are balanced by the unselfish acts of people. How do you come down on this basic question about human nature? I did an informal poll on Facebook a few weeks ago and the majority of responses came back that people are basically good. These were from mainly author friends who tend to be liberal thinkers. From my own conclusion, people of a more conservative bent tend to see people as bad: you can’t give poor people money because they’ll spend it on booze and they’re lazy. I know it’s hard to answer this black and white question. I believe that people are basically good but there are clearly exceptions and we can’t be naïve. We need to have a police force to protect us from predators and psychopaths. Still, I think most people want what’s right for their family and society. I will continue to think positively while paying attention to the exceptions.