There are
many different forms of socialism including "market socialism" as opposed to state ownership of the means of production. There is even a branch called libertarian socialism. So the first question is what, if anything, can be said about the word socialism itself. That wikipedia article I referenced does not help:
...Different self-described socialists have used the term "socialism" to refer to different things, such as an
economic system, a type of
society, a
philosophical outlook, a collection of moral values and ideals, or even a certain kind of human character. ... There have been numerous
political movements which called themselves "socialist" under some definition of the term—some of these interpretations are mutually exclusive and all of them have generated debates over the true meaning of socialism.
But taking Democratic Socialism broadly, it explicitly is first about democracy rather than the "dictatorship of the proletariat". And it explicitly has a role for the market rather than a planned economy. Other features are income redistribution, government helping those in need and focus on people who work for a living rather than capitalists.