Although these lines apply perfectly well to South American politics, they also
have a more universal meaning. One can read "this country" as referring
to the cynical state of mind in which Charles Gould now finds himself -- which
is why he looks to the cynical doctor for confirmation. On the surface, the line
implies that we and Charles are used to these words having a better meaning from
the experience of better countries. On the deeper level, those better countries
don't exist: the idealistic meaning of those words is an illusion, exposed by
the clear-sightedness of "this country" of cynicism.