In a completely full socialist state the workers or laborers are allowed to own means of production but the distribution of goods and services is controlled and supervised by a central government.
the government's sole aim is to distribute all of the goods and services equally to ensure everyone in the country has the same opportunities as everyone else. So with that in mind the socialist economy is more of creating a free society where everyone is equal and presented with equal opportunities and complete elimination of social class.
some of the more common examples of socialist states are the People's Republic of China and the Republic of Cuba
Although China allows capitalist market practices with state control and there is uneven distribution of goods health care, education varies and there is the existence of social class but China still identifies as a socialist state but claims to be at the primary stage of socialism with full socialism as the aim.
Instead of inequality China decided to focus on poverty alleviation, state control of capitalism and state ownership of key industries.
Although most socialist States call themselves republics, they usually follow the fundamentals of socialism where labor and means of production are properly and equitably distributed and there are no social classes or hierarchies.
But socialism is not as popular as a form of government because of the lack of incentives if someone gets the same resources as someone who didn't work as hard there's no point in working harder this can potentially lead to the nation's failure especially if no one is willing to work hard to get better incentives.