Serious question: what does the word "democratic" in "democratic socialism" refer to? I always assumed it referred to the decision-making process of socialism; that is: while the government would own the means of production (socialism), the application of those means would be decided by the demos (democratic).
However, as a practical manner, my understanding does not appear to be the case (at least as far as the US is concerned). Democratic socialists in the US often condemn democratic methods. They often say "I cannot believe X has become politicized!" But that's precisely what decisions made by the demos would imply: any use of the socially owned means of production would be inherently subject to the political process.
For example, public K12 education. Public K12 education is one of the closest things we have to a socialist industry in the US: the means of production are owned by local governments. And yet, the decisions about the use of those means of production are often implicitly, and frequently explicitly, forbidden to the demos (see, for example, the Washington Post Op-Ed linked above).
So, if the demos were to play a role in socialism, then any socialized industry would necessarily become politicized. If the demos is deined decision-making power in the socialized industry, then the word "democratic" becomes empty. Democratic socalism is only democratic if the demos actually has decision-making authority. Otherwise, it's just sparkling socialism.
