Sweden, a fairly civilized country where a larger proportion of the population is happy with their lives than appears to be the case here in the U.S., in spite of higher taxes.FWIW, Sweden is on the verge of economic collapse (AGAIN) under the burden of decades of socialism. It did work, at first, because the traditional Swedish attitudes of self-reliance and the "protestant work ethic" endured for a little while. Then, the lure of getting "something for nothing" began to take over.
After a couple of generations, there were a distinct, large "consumer class" (in the sense of consumption of social services), and small "producer" class. Atlas began to shrug, as the real "producers" moved offshore to escape the ridiculously high taxation.
That, plus the introduction of large numbers of immigrants from societies where the idea of a true middle-class was unknown, has taken it's toll.
BOTTOM LINE: The Swedish "socialist utopia" is the triumph of propaganda over reality.
REFERENCES:
http://dbarf.blogspot.com/2008/03/failure-of-socialism-in-sweden.html
http://capmag.com/article.asp?id=2210
http://www.namyth.com/SocialismWORKS!/index.php?sw=Sweden
http://www.usiap.org/Viewpoints/Zgen/SocialismInSwedenAndAmerica.html
http://www.arguewitheveryone.com/foreign-comparative-politics/10665-european-socialism-its-massive-failure.html
http://www.socialismtoday.org/123/sweden.html