Islam, as it is practiced by a majority of muslims in the world, is a regressive force.

[Kurska]

141. "Nothing anyone said about the Soviet model from outside had anything to do with it. '

I think that is a massively flawed recollection of history. Communism fell, in large part, because of the appeal of the culture and way of life of the first world.

In response to your first point, I find moral relativism very tiring. If you're not willing to admit a country that forbids women to drive or executes gay is a backwards terrifying place, then I don't think you should be comfortable calling yourself a progressive. Either you don't find those issues particularly appealing or you're saying your beliefs are based on something other than a moral foundation. Either answer is troubling.

As a gay man, maybe I'm biased because I have skin in the game. But I view a nation that won't murder me for my love infinitely morally superior to one that would. Then again, equivocating about it is certainly easier when you don't have said neck on the line.