Coreutils licensing is just one part of the amalgamation that prevents the Nintendo Switch-ification (it's based on FreeBSD) of entire free software stacks. Not only do non-Switch users not benefit from changes, the entity that made billions on top of free software then uses that war chest to sue free software developers into oblivion.
I think licensing is an important way to prevent those types of abuses, and to maximize users' benefits.
The "Horizon" OS used on the Nintendo Switch is not FreeBSD-based, it merely contains some FreeBSD code, but is largely, as far as I am aware, a home-grown proprietary operating system not substantially based on any "free" system. The Sony PlayStation 4 (and probably PlayStation 5) actually are substantially based on FreeBSD, though.
I think licensing is an important way to prevent those types of abuses, and to maximize users' benefits.