General Discussion

Hugo Chavez and Nicolás Maduro both are / were authoritarians.

It's also compatible with capitalism as well as communism.

Same with the concept of a public good or commonwealth, which are also called a concern for the social welfare, a concept baked into American thought from the very earliest days. It's compatible with any monetary theory, and co-existed for all this time with capitalism, but is related to socialism and communism in some ways also.

BUT, it has never been linked with authoritarianism as far as I know. (Admittedly I haven't studied the topic.)

I wish, how I wish, democratic socialists would realize what they really mean is best described by a concern for the public good, the commonwealth.

Their persistence with the word socialism is sheer denialism. They think they can change people's minds. Nope. Socialism, while it can be used in positive ways, has also historically been used by very repressive regimes.