Looked into it and yeah you're right. We make slightly more money but live less, are less educated, and experience more violence. Despite all that it surprisingly isn't that much lower.

Still wouldn't say we're the lowest possible denominator when El Salvador and Honduras exist right next to us. Calling China a utopia is definitely an exaggeration but it was especially inspiring to see it's growth from when I first went in the 90's to the 2010's. Seeing the strides it took and the astronomical growth from what I saw in the 90's blew me away. It was different than my experiences in Germany or the US because I understood how those countries attained their wealth.

China being a country that's part of the global south made the leaps and improvements that much more inspiring. It was much safer than what I experienced in the US and on par with Germany. It would be nice to see countries like ours attain a standard of living on par or better than China's. There are times when I have my doubts because of how corrupt the institutions are in our countries. Costa Rica and Panama have proven that some level of development is possible with them surpassing both of ours in standard of living, but even they have their setbacks.