Not really. The article makes a case that the Stalinist purges destroyed the generation of thinkers required to maintain the Soviet lie. The Afghanistan adventure was unaffordable, unwinnable, and they knew it.
The USSR’s incompetent, shuttered leadership brought it to a tipping point, an economic tipping point that Reagan pushed over, bringing about in internal collapse rather than an outward explosion.
IOW, Reagan was neccesary, but not sufficient.
We’re saying two different things. You are saying Reagan was necessary but not sufficient by himself to bring about the downfall of the Soviets. Perhaps. I am saying that had Carter won, it never would have taken place, and in fact, we might have ended up losing.