There is no right license for things like, say, compilers and runtime libraries, that is compatible and usable with the licenses of all the things that want to

There is no right license for things like, say, compilers and runtime libraries, that is compatible and usable with the licenses of all the things that want to use them, and also provides the kind of patent protection and wording necessary to have this kind of happiness. Basically, Apache2 would be the right license if it was GPLv2 compatible and had no attribution clause. Making it GPLv2 compatible, however, requires removing exactly the set of patent clauses you want to use to protect downstream users.