On the Political Economy of Market Socialism

Would it be possible to combine effectively the principle of free market allocation with public ownership of large, established corporations such as General Motors, IBM and British Petroleum? How would such a "market socialist" economy operate? What would be the advantages and what would be the disadvantages? Although the recent demise of Soviet communism is considered by many to be the death knell of socialism in the contemporary world, proponents of market socialism strongly disagree with thi…