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The "gathering and sharing" in the chapter was used by the corrupt weilders of power as an excuse that the hobbits couldn't very well disagree with on the face of it; which is why they didn't have a ready answer for it until it was too late. The Hobbits are all about community and "gathering and sharing" is a great community ideal. That the weilders of power cheated the ruled by selling to a foreign entity and making a huge profit at the expense of the local ruled, resulting in shabby living conditions, does not in itself undermine the ideal of "gathering and sharing".
So is Tolkien writing a critique of socialist ideals, or of greed amongst rulers, or that a simple market economy in an agrarian society is to be preferred over a socialist?
Or is it about how a community needs leaders with vast experience and wisdom beyond their immediate situation so they can see through the shallow lies of the corrupt weilders of power in order to lead their people to freedom?
He's writing a story that may (or may not) have such applications but those are not what the story is about. It's about four hobbits who grew into their roles within the community by means of adventures none of them chose for themselves, but went willingly, and came back the better for them.
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