Interestingly about the PRC, even though the WEF is a right-wing, pro-imperialist org, it still acknowledges that China is rapidly improving:
China, one of the world’s most populous countries,
improves gender parity by +0.2 points since the
last edition of the report, with a 2025 score of 68.6%
and climbs three ranks since last year to 103rd rank.
China has been on a positive trajectory for the past
three editions, and on course to approach its highest
score to date (69.1%, 2013). This shift results from
parity increases in Political Empowerment (+1.2 points)
and Health and Survival (+0.7 points) and is achieved
despite a slight reduction in economic parity (-1.2
points). In Economic Participation and Opportunity,
while income parity rises from 64.2% to 63.9%, it
is not sufficient to counter the drop in wage parity,
of –0.3 percentage points. However, compared to
2006 China has advanced economic parity by an
overall +10.5 percentage points. In Educational
Attainment, parity ratios are maintained with the
exception of literacy rates, which show the score
modestly improved from 96.6% to 96.9% despite
a minimal but overall reduction in values. China’s
improved sex ratio at birth has a significant effect on
its Health and Parity subindex performance, raising
the score from 94.0% to 94.7%. Unlike a large share
of economies this year, China’s healthy life expectancy
remains virtually unchanged. Political parity improves
as female ministerial representation nearly doubles
in 2025, from 4.7% to 8.3%, and boosts the overall
subindex score from 12.3% to 13.5%.
In general, the introduction of capitalism into Eastern-Europe after the dissolution of the USSR was disastrous for equality, so the data checks out there.
As far as education is concerned, being more educated puts one into a more privledged subsection of society, without actually making them "smarter." Those with privledge tend to support the system, even if it isn't as scientifically logical. The fact that less-privledged people prefer more equitable economic formations is indeed natural, I agree with you on that.
As for "true" capitalism, there's no such thing. Capitalism is capitalism, either the large firms and key industries are public, or they are private. There's no such thing as a "checked" capitalism, the system will always adapt to suit its class structure. The reason socialism is appealing is because it's equitable, scientific, and resolves the contradictions and inherent flaws in capitalism. It isn't simply another "extreme," it's shifting from a privately driven economy to a publicly driven economy. There is no "middle ground" in class dynamics, either the bourgeoisie are in charge, or the proletariat is, and in the Czech Republic that class is absolutely the bourgeoisie. It isn't democratic except for the privledged few, the state bans communism and tries to root out its influence.