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Legate I still can't see how you could classify the meal as 'good' if you had nothing with which to compare it. If you only ever had 'good' meals you would not think of the meal as good - you would simply think of it as a meal. 'good' implies the existence of 'bad'. If only 'good' existed you wouldn't need the word 'good'. But this is not merely a linguistic debate. What of morality? Specifically how can anyone develop the capacity to make moral judgements if they are never faced with a choice between good & evil, right & wrong?
Of course, some people will think that in an 'ideal' world 'evil' would not exist - indeed their 'ideal' world would not even contain manifestations of 'evil (guns, violent pornography, violent movies/games - even 'bad' language would be banned). Of course, this would not produce a 'morally good' world - it would produce a world where no-one had the opportunity (or the need) to make moral choices. It would be at best an amoral world. One could argue that a truly morally good world would be one in which guns, violent pornography & the like was freely available, but everyone had made a free choice not to have anything to do with it.
Hence the necessity for evil to exist - if the human race is to become fully adult. One has to have the freedom to choose evil if ones choice of the good is to count for anything. If you only have various 'goods' to choose from then choosing the good is valueless - because you can't choose anything else. Of course 'good' can exist without evil - but good cannot be freely chosen, in full knowledge, without evil existing as a possibility. Remove evil & you remove freedom to choose good.
Which is why Morgoth's rebellion is necessary, why he could be said to be the 'liberator' of the Children - his rebellion not only enables, but actually forces them to choose between good & evil & to make a stand. He makes the choice of good matter, by making it a costly choice. If the only choice the Children faced was between various 'good's then what would choosing the good actually count for? Of course, Morgoth's intention was to enslave the Children, but (as Eru stated would be the case) his actions actually serve to liberate them by forcing them to grow up & choose the good over its opposite.
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