What I'm saying is that every player character is pretty damn evil.
Only from a certain point of view; a point of view in which being a member of a government, not spreading equality and freedom; or engaging in warfare is automatically evil. I don't agree that it is; what's important with a character's "evil" is relative to that character's understanding and to the society at large. The idea of universal human rights is a relatively new one in history, the idea that taxation is some kind of theft ("goons... shaking down") is also not particularly shared by everyone, and the idea that being a warrior or soldier is evil is just plain unrealistic. And I think seeing things in this light makes the nuances of actual characterization much less interesting.
Also too, not every player character is a knight... or a warrior... or even a noble. You could say that adventurers are "evil" too... roaming around the countryside, murdering innocent animals. But that's a bit unreasonable. Priests? Courtiers? Sure, you could blame them for "being part of the system," but that's again like saying everyone who fought for the USSR was evil, everyone who was part of Nazi Germany was evil, all Americans are evil, all Muslims are evil, etc. And there are people who say these things. But it's a bit unreasonable too.
