But if you make any improvements to support your even better widget, every random Chinese company can just clone it for cheaper.

They will do that regardless of the license of the software, but you can prevent anyone else that respects copyrights. How does BSD even help? Worst yet, BSD accepts this. Besides, if I can buy the version with GPL software and accessible source code, I'd pay more instead of getting the knock off version that I can't even modify.

That's why everyone produces widgets has to go to lengths to keep GPL-taint away from whatever it is that allows them to compete.

That's a reason to use proprietary software, not open source. I can negotiate with the vendors however I want so long as all parties agree. I can even write a contract in such a way that allows me exclusive access and no one else.

With software that is actually free, those who improve it can do what they want with their improvements, regardless if that's to share them or not.

How am I suppose to improve it if I don't have access to it? How am I suppose to use an upstream version that doesn't even work work on the widget I bought? Why not just get the Free software version that allows me to improve upon it?

Because if I'm open sourcing my code I want it to be usable by anyone for anything. The closer to plain Public Domain a license gets, the more free the code. Say I develop some magic compression that doubles storage densities. If I open source it, I want my improvements to end up in everything out there even closed sourced software and widgets.

Someone relicensing your code doesn't make your code any less free or available. You simply aren't allowed to dictate what they can do with their own work.

That's why BSD is merely "open source" not Free software, because at the end of the day, access is entirely conditional on part of the distributors releasing the product, no different from the extra steps negotiating proprietary software licensing. It does nothing for Freedom.

If it was GPL to begin with, the code remains Free, indefinitely, including all the derivatives to anyone, anywhere. It does this by obligating everyone in the distribution chain to supply that source code to whoever received their product, without any additional terms or restrictions allowed to be added or removed.

We've been going around in circles, it is clearly going nowhere.