In Europe the term 'socialist country' and to a large extend the term 'socialism' has a very clearly defined, negative meaning: only the former Eastern Bloc states called themselves socialist, and saw themselves as one step before communism. All of them ran their economy into the ground in record time. Nobody in their right mind would call (for instance) Sweden or Germany a 'socialist country', even though they have implemented a lot of socialist ideas more thoroughly (and more successfully) than the 'real deal'.