RASCIST!!

Is Conrad rascist? In our day, despite his sympathy for the natives he most likely would be considered as such, but in his his degree of sympathy makes his shade of rascism much paler than that of his contemporaries. Despite his description of the savagery of these natives and their proximity to inhumanity, he seems to scorn the pilgrims even more. He seems disgusted by the plight of the newly enslaved people dying under the tree and cannot conceive of them as enemies.
Much of the allure for Marlow in the native lies in their savagery and nearness to the beginning of time. He describes the allure of the bush and jungle and that he admires the methods of Kurtz, but that Kurtz's flaw is that he has no restraint and so in a way has lost touch with his humanity. So Conrad does characterize natives as less developed and more savage(the African crew on the boat are cannibals). But if we are to judge based on these descriptions, the Africans would have had less advanced technology, and less complex and developed politico-socio-economic system and structure. Such standards are not the only ones available to judge a civilization by, but they are the ones most often used and are implied by Conrad. I would say that Conrad would characterize the Africans not as inferior, but as less developed. But of course this is still tending towards rascism.