I think the European countries are more "capitalist with benefits" than "socialist". They have strong governments and better protections for the lower classes,

I think the European countries are more "capitalist with benefits" than "socialist". They have strong governments and better protections for the lower classes, different campaign financing methods (which influences who can run and win), stronger regulatory bodies, sensible welfare programs, nationalized healthcare, etc. But they're still fundamentally capitalist. Their revenue comes from the taxation of capitalist ventures. Very few of the means of production are owned by the people or state. They just do a better job of skimming off that top and putting it to social use. A lot of East Asia is like that too. The social democracies in Nordic countries are a bit different though, with Norway's state owning or partially owning some of the enterprises that drive their GDP. But there is still private ownership there. The US by contrast prefers to let the rich keep their money at the expense of everyone else. And they use some of it to buy off the political class, so there's no incentive for the politicians to change the system, especially when both major parties are corrupt and conspire against third parties gaining power.