State socialism is a classification for any socialist political and economic perspective advocating state ownership of the means of production either as a temporary measure in the transition from capitalism to socialism, or as characteristic of socialism itself. It is often used, sometimes interchangeably with state capitalism, in reference to the economic systems of Marxist–Leninist states such as the Soviet Union to highlight the role of state planning in these economies. However, these states had only a limited number of socialist characteristics.