Distributing the means of production is the only way to ensure distribution of power, which is the only way to enforce a democracy. The idea that the proletariat will control the means of production if they are held by the state fails because there is no insurance that the central authorities will use them in alignment with the desire of the proletariat. Anything that can be distributed to communities or individuals should be, so that collective decisions must necessarily be made by the masses.

I’m by no means an expert, but for a while I’ve viewed distributism and its offshoots as the sanest long-term solution to megacorps.

I think any distributed power structure relies heavily on a “good” value system. But yes, if you somehow can ensure good values broadly, it probably works.