From the foreword to the Austi Classics edition

Heart of Darkness is Conrad's classic on Belgian colonisation in the Congo, and more general on the Western colonisation of other nations. Conrad's insight is just as relevant today, when the Anglo-American empire spreads war, terrorism and economic decay throughout the world including through Western nations themselves. Dear reader, Heart of Darkness is not a commentary on humanity as a whole nor on a 'dark heart' that any of us may possess due to our human faults. Conrad is talking about the internationalist policy of invading other nations. This is more obvious when we consider that Conrad's Polish parents were arrested and exiled for agitating against the Russian takeover of Poland and, as a result, Conrad grew up an orphan in the care of his uncle. Humans are the solution, not the problem. In simplistic terms, we generally are good not bad. The problem Conrad is targeting is colonialism.

Dan Abramson
Sydney Australia
July 2016

Heart of Darkness print edition at Amazon

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