I keep coming back to wondering what might have happened if Gorbachev had succeeded.

A more responsible, more liberal, more democratic / less authoritarian USSR sounds pretty attractive now, doesn't it?

Sadly, what he was trying was nearly impossible - and the West bears at least some responsibility for his failure as we just couldn't bring ourselves to treat it as not-a-trick until it was too late. And then we were too busy congratulating ourselves about the end of the Cold War.