Gorbatchev convinced the Communist party that Glasnost was inevitable
Gorbatchev recognized the crisis that confronted the rigid system of central planning in a world that was becoming increasingly competitive and in which information technology was changing economic and social realities.
He persuaded the party elite that if socialism were to survive, economic restructuring (perestroika) would be necessary along with greater openness (glasnost) so that information could be better utilized.
The goal was "to renew socialism, not to destroy it." "The better informed people are, the more intelligently they act and the more actively they support the Party".