Actually the European model is a social market inspired by Germany's Christian Democrats. The idea is a free market tempered by social subsidiarity. Basically, the economy is privately owned but people are insured against the risks of life through collective state social insurance and entitlement policies that protect against unemployment, accidents, catastrophic illnesses and which provide assistance for having children along with taking care of the aged. It worked successfully for a long time but now faces increasing strains due to demographic decline and pressures resulting from competition from parts of the world that do not provide generous social benefits to their own people. It is the only model with which most Europeans are familiar.
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)