Earlier quoted context omitted.
What’s the cancer rate for young people in third world countries? How much of the quality of life in first world countries depend on third world countries?
All the more reason why we should be uplifting the third world. Instead of allowing them to proliferate their own suffering using debt and population booms.
What makes us sure that modernity as it is now is that much better? I'm not entirely convinced that is the case, and there are many problems that result from problems inherent to modernity.
For example, this happens, a lot: https://www.ribbonfarm.com/2010/07/26/a-big-little-idea-call...
Given the mental health crises in the first world from our youth, I think the first world is far, far from figuring everything out, including problems with suffering.
As far as debt, isn't that a first world problem saddled onto the third world?
Finally, as a thought experiment, if an alien species from outer space came down here and wanted to uplift America, would Americans want it? I bet you, people would not take it well. There's a presumption of cultural and technological superiority that will chafe everyone. I've seen memes comparing Star Trek as an ideal of where we can go as a civilization, and yet, Star Trek also talks about the Prime Directive, not uplifting ... unless violating it generate enough drama to have an interesting plot.