Socialism is where the state owns and controls the means of production. Communism is when the people own and control the means of production, Similar to your example of little plastic Cosmonauts, a friend who lived in the USSR said there were shops full of identical ugly shoes, but no bread.
We have a mixture of socialism and capitalism in Australia and although far from perfect it works a lot better than many other places. Being a monarchy seems to be enough of a safety valve to protect us from lunatics becoming presidents...