Do you consider TIM a “bad person” in me2?

The writers designed him to exemplify evil in any moral system. It's amazing how complete they were in this regard.

Most obviously, he violates all Kantian principles. He never treats a person as an "end in himself," but only as a means to an end. He never follows the categorical imperative, which requires that every action be based on a desirable general principle ("what if everyone behaved that way?").

Nor is his behavior utilitarian; his aim is not "the greatest good for the greatest number." His stated goal, to gain dominance for Humanity as a species, makes no mention of happiness at all; and indeed, it is infeasible, and its pursuit can only lead to a forever war.

Nor is he successfully pragmatic--"whatever works is right"--inasmuch as his individual projects repeatedly lead to disastrous outcomes for the organization itself, a fact which the ex-Cerberus team members discuss during the Citadel DLC.

TIM is a classic self-defeating evil genius: someone whose moral blindness and lack of empathy (the same thing Hume would say), inevitably lead to failure, despite his wealth, charisma, energy, and drive.

There is no need to appeal to historical figures to exemplify the phenomenon, as we see a dozen real-world exemplars of this in the headlines every day. Five hundred years ago, Machiavelli described the phenomenon: narcissists rise, and rise, but eventually the very characteristics that brought them success at the start will combine to ruin them.

/r/masseffect Thread