Final answer:
Conrad criticizes imperialism in the passage, highlighting its exploitation and negative impact on colonized individuals, with economic, social, cultural, political, and military dimensions. The most accurate answers based on the given context are that imperialism is critiqued for harming individuals and its primary motive was access to raw materials.
Step-by-step explanation:
The passage suggests that Conrad criticizes imperialism for its negative impact on individuals, which can be inferred based on the depiction of exploitation and violence, like the brutalization of the Congolese people at the hands of King Leopold II's regime. Imperialism is shown to have economic motives, yet it often resulted in little profit and immense costs, while politically, it was a tool for power struggles between European nations. The narrative typically used to justify imperialism, presenting it as bringing the 'benefits of civilization' to colonized peoples, is identified by Conrad as often either a shallow pretext or a delusional belief among imperialists, such as is reflected in Kipling's 'The White Man's Burden'.
From an economic perspective, imperialism is described as largely unprofitable, with the costs of maintaining empires sometimes exceeding profits from resource exploitation. On a social and cultural level, imperialism is justified by some as a civilizing mission, which is now widely viewed as ethically problematic and patronizing. Militarily, and politically, empires pursued territorial expansion, often leading to the oppression and suffering of colonized populations.
Answering the multiple-choice question based on the passage, choice (b) 'Imperialism is criticized for its negative impact on individuals' seems to be the best fit, as this aligns with Conrad's points about the brutality and exploitation experienced by the local populations under imperial rule. When considering the main motives of nineteenth-century imperialism, according to the last excerpt, choice (c) 'gaining access to raw materials' is a primary motive, as is evident from the scramble for resources like those in the Congo.