Smart contracts rely on a trusted ledger. The original smart-contract discussions in the 90s were in the context of a contract between various users in virtual open-world games, enforced by the trusted game server. This setting also meant that many of the lame parts of EVM, like the inability to represent capabilities or to protect cryptographic secrets, were supplanted by the game server's encapsulated backend logic and database.

Blockchains and smart contracts don't have to be related at all.