Soviet democracy was never a good faith attempt. I mean, Bolsheviks have forcibly disbanded an elected Constituent Assembly after it deliberated for 13 whole hours (during which it became clear that they don't have majority support there). But it doesn't mean that the fundamental principles of council democracy as they advertised it don't work.

I would suggest looking at libertarian left instead. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Communalism, in particular.