Sorry for the terribly late reply, I've nearly stopped using medium.

I think one of the major differences between socialism and communism is that communism aims for a stateless society, as I'm sure you'll read in the Manifesto. The idea of the workers owning the means of production is common in both, so it's a socialist idea I suppose.

As for the companies giving out shares to the workers, I think it's a start. It's not enough, and is still far from a true socialist economy, as that would require no private ownership at all, but the transition will have to be slow.

Another thing you might find interesting is the form of economy in the Scandinavian countries like Finland or Sweden. I'm not sure about the details, but I think it's what is called social capitalism, where there is still a free market but a lot of social securities. These countries are often considered some of the happiest countries in the world. Really goes to show why social security is important.