Asking for recommendations of fiction books with a communist setting. Ideally with a “show don’t tell” narrative structure. That is, communism exists and works fine but the author does not say “this is communism”. Just existing in the background like any other normal thing.
The first thing that comes to mind is Red Star by Alexander Boganov. It is pretty explicitly “about” communism in that it takes place on a communist Mars. It was written in the early 1900s but I think holds up fine.
The Culture series by Ian Banks features a communist-post-scarcity economic society.
Any books in the Noon Universe universe by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky take place in a future Earth where communism has spread over the planet.
I will second Noon books by Strugatskys. It’s literally the series that comes to mind when the op’s question is “communist setting without being explicit”. The books deal a lot with the moral dilemmas that arise in such society and with contacts with other cultures.
I would also suggest “Probationers”, also by Strugatsky brothers. It’s a bit more grounded, taking place solely inside the solar system, but it has more overt “capitalism vs communism” discussions by several characters, without veering into propaganda or strawmanning. If anything, the chapter with space miners seems like a direct jab at contemporary (and even modern, despite book being old) western sci-fi. Good stuff