"Nowadays, anyone who cannot speak English and is incapable of using the Internet is regarded as backward"
About this Quote
A billionaire Saudi prince saying this isn’t making a neutral observation; it’s drawing a map of power and labeling the people left outside it. Al-Waleed bin Talal built his influence by betting on global media, tech, and finance, and his line compresses that worldview into a blunt social verdict: English plus Internet access has become the entry ticket to modern life. The sting is in the passive voice of “is regarded.” He’s not simply describing prejudice; he’s laundering it as common sense, as if the world’s hierarchy is an objective measurement rather than a system designed by those already fluent in it.
The intent reads as both warning and justification. Warning, because he’s pointing to a real gatekeeping mechanism: job markets, education, and even basic services increasingly assume English interfaces and digital literacy. Justification, because framing “backwardness” as a personal deficiency conveniently downplays structural barriers - unequal schooling, censorship regimes, rural infrastructure gaps, and the fact that linguistic dominance follows empire and capital, not merit.
The quote also reveals an elite anxiety about relevance. For a business figure operating at the intersection of Arab identity and Western capital, English and the Internet function as proxies for participation in a global conversation that often sets the terms for everyone else. The subtext is: adapt, connect, and monetize - or be categorized, dismissed, and governed by those who can. It’s a sharp snapshot of how “progress” gets defined less by human flourishing than by compatibility with the networks that run the world.
The intent reads as both warning and justification. Warning, because he’s pointing to a real gatekeeping mechanism: job markets, education, and even basic services increasingly assume English interfaces and digital literacy. Justification, because framing “backwardness” as a personal deficiency conveniently downplays structural barriers - unequal schooling, censorship regimes, rural infrastructure gaps, and the fact that linguistic dominance follows empire and capital, not merit.
The quote also reveals an elite anxiety about relevance. For a business figure operating at the intersection of Arab identity and Western capital, English and the Internet function as proxies for participation in a global conversation that often sets the terms for everyone else. The subtext is: adapt, connect, and monetize - or be categorized, dismissed, and governed by those who can. It’s a sharp snapshot of how “progress” gets defined less by human flourishing than by compatibility with the networks that run the world.
Quote Details
| Topic | Internet |
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