In an interview, Joseph Stiglitz was asked:

Ana Kasparian

In a few sentences explain democratic socialism.

Joseph Stiglitz

So all that Democratic Socialism is – let me say it’s not socialism as it was understood, until, say, 1980. Socialism was the ownership of the means of production … No one is talking about that. No one says that is the direction we are going. What Democratic Socialism is actually very close to what in Europe is called Social Democracy. …

You might look on the internet to find a definition of social democracy. Here is a wordy explanation that I am not sure captures it all, but it is a start. This is from the Wikipedia definition of Social Democracy.

Social democracy is a political, social and economic philosophy that supports economic and social interventions to promote social justice within the framework of a liberal democratic polity and a capitalist-oriented economy.

For instance, Bernie Sanders is advocating that government pays for health care. If you buy a car from General Motors, I hope you don’t think you own the means of production for building cars.