
We one of the most developed capitalist societies in the world. It's not reasonable to compare our third world outcomes with actual third world countries. With our GDP, there is no excuse for its shortcomings. The amount of time, money, and energy we put towards controlling citizens is abnormal among developed nations.
The US has enormous wealth, military power, and cultural output, so calling it “third world” feels like hyperbole, but wealth and power concentrated at the top while the bottom is left with crumbling schools, unaffordable hospitals, and contaminated water is exactly the pattern that defines societies we do call third world. The US is less an exception to that dynamic than a very expensive version of it.