Isn’t it the dictatorship part that’s the problem? I don’t think gulags and managed employment are an intrinsic part of socialism, just the authoritarianism of the Soviet.
Same for capitalism really. If it’s regulated and democratic it works fine for most people, but if it’s left unchecked and allowed to go rampant, it causes all kinds of problems (different problems to a rampant authoritarian socialist state, but just as bad)