I've come to realize in discussions with some of my close friends that I believe that people are more like angels than like demons. There is evil in the world, but I believe that most people are essentially good. I believe that most people, given the chance to pursue their dreams, free from institutional bondage, will do good things. Hence, I put my faith in people, rather than institutions.
I also believe that most of those who do evil acts don't wake up in the morning thinking, "how can I make the world a more miserable place? How can I destroy the lives of as many people as possible?" People who think like that are demonic. I think that they are few and far between. Most people who do evil acts think that they are pursuing noble and good ends. They just approach those noble and good ends with too much force and overbearance, and instead of making the world a better place, destroy things.
I believe that creating powerful institutions, like governments, is necessary, but dangerous. Governments not held in check by the superior power of the people will become corrupt and do things not in the best interests of those they attempt to protect.
I realize that there are those who do not have as much faith in people as myself, as much as I hate to admit it. To those, I would argue the following. People on the whole are good. Some are evil. If you create a powerful institution like a powerful government, you will give much power to individuals. Those that are evil are naturally drawn to these positions of power. If you create such a government, sooner or later, you will end up with evil men in positions of great power.
There are those that believe that mankind, left without an all-powerful government to keep the people in line will do all sorts of horrible things. I cannot believe that.
Much of my belief is founded in certain scriptural texts. From Mosiah 29:26-27,
"Now it is not common that the voice of the people desireth anything contrary to that which is right; but it is common for the lesser part of the people to desire that which is not right; therefore this shall ye observe and make it your law—to do your business by the voice of the people. And if the time comes that the voice of the people doth choose iniquity, then is the time that the judgments of God will come upon you; yea, then is the time he will visit you with great destruction even as he has hitherto visited this land."
Given that this statement is true, I cannot believe that people are essentially devilish. That's too darn depressing. If it's true, then the judgments of God are about to fall upon this people in America. I'd rather not have that happen. So, I maintain my faith that people are generally good.
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I think that at the heart of your question is a very important fact about the influence of spirits that many in the church do not understand enough to think about.
We have the concept of the natural man, yes? Well, one becomes strengthened in the natural man by doing things contrary to God's commandments, which forces man to become subject to Satan and his minions.
Lesser known is the concept of "the inner man" from the Book of Abraham. It's deepest part of the human identity--that part which isn't human at all, but divine. By being righteous, we are able to be quickened in the inner man--which is pretty much akin to becoming more godly and returning home.
Basically, we all have that goodness inside of us, but that doesn't mean that people act in a way that allows them to access it. It's all a matter of spirits. The Holy Ghost does everything He can to bring it out of us to give us access to it, but He is bound to the consequences of our punishments for sin. And opposition is pretty much constant, even in times of righteous living. I was talking about this with Sam and my theory is that what happens in moments of sin is that Satan is able to (unless we repent) literally take our glory from us. There are some passages in 1 Nephi that allow for such a reading.
Basically, to say whether man is good or evil is impossible because 1. it's always changing based on our actions, and 2. we are not in a position to be judges right now--only witnesses. In order to be fair judges, we would need a perfect knowledge. And since we can't have that, we should probably save it for Him to handle.
"If it's true, then the judgments of God are about to fall upon this people in America. I'd rather not have that happen. So, I maintain my faith that people are generally good."
Logical fallacy: Your preferences have no influence on reality. If your faith is misplaced, we're in just as much trouble as if you expect us to be in trouble.
That said, I basically agree with what you've said. The only other thing I have to say is that I don't think most people, good or evil, are necessarily pursuing noble and good ends, in the grander sense. I think most people wake up in the morning and think "how can I make today a good day for me and for the people I love," and that can lead to both good and evil things. (I suppose this probably doesn't hold true as much for people in positions of power, since it's their stated job to pursue noble and good things.)
Actually, I do have one more thing to say, in response to the title question of this post. Each of us has the light of Christ. Each of us is subject to temptation by Satan. So I hold that man cannot be categorized as either angelic or demonic, unless you categorize man as both. Each of us has the capacity to be good or evil, and it's up to us to choose; everybody, in the end, still makes choices along both alignments.
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