"their policies do not work".
Have you heard about the other democratic socialist states than Venezuela? Read about Denmark, Sweden, Finland and the other nordic countries: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nordic_model
There you go, nicely working examples of democratic socialism.
We all know Venezuela has some big problems. They mostly relate to the leader and cannot be taken as an example of failure of democratic socialism.
Nordic model
The Nordic model (also called Nordic capitalism or Nordic social democracy) refers to the economic and social policies common to the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway, Iceland, the Faroe Islands and Sweden). This includes a comprehensive welfare state and collective bargaining at the national level with a high percentage of the workforce unionized, while being based on the economic foundations of free market capitalism. The Nordic model began to earn attention after World War II.Although there are significant differences among the Nordic countries, they all share some common traits. These include support for a "universalist" welfare state aimed specifically at enhancing individual autonomy and promoting social mobility; a corporatist system involving a tripartite arrangement where representatives of labor and employers negotiate wages and labor market policy mediated by the government; and a commitment to widespread private ownership, free markets and free trade.Each of the Nordic countries has its own economic and social models, sometimes with large differences from its neighbours.