"I started to post a long response to this but have spared you :) I would like to hear what others think about the above observation."....[that democratic communism is not possible]
Well, there's about a million ways to slice and dice what "communism" and "socialism" mean and whether the "dictatorship of the proletariat" is explicit, implicit, must-have, etc. But never mind that.
The possibility of "democratic communism" to me is the same as asking "is it possible for the working class (95% of the world's population) to determine democratically, thoughtfully, openly...how we should go about in sharing the products of our work fairly and in sharing this earth and its bounty fairly with one another and with the generations to come?
Is this possible? Sure. Why not?
Joanna