The hover-text for the OP's linked xkcd cartoon is :

  I find that when someone's taking time to do something right in the present, 
  they're a perfectionist with no ability to prioritize, 
  whereas when someone took time to do something right in the past, 
  they're a master artisan of great foresight.

or, loosely reinterpreted: Don't make me wait for my donuts!

In OP's terminology, I would add that the left-path ascenders are playing king-of-the-hill as they know that (in our current business environment) they can be the one to roll down rocks from the top to both crush those latecomers attempting to overtake them, as well as cheaply flatten paths up for the consumer masses.

Those masses will pay this King for an easy ascent because, above all, the Hormuz spice must flow.

Who has time to make their own donuts?!

From this kind of P.O.V. the OP's middle and right paths are often just losing strategies whose appeal lies in their comfort & morality (i.e. a luxury of personal preference).

To be clear, I am not personally advocating for Capitalist Utilitarianism here, but I find it worthwhile to see our current turmoil from this higher viewpoint and perhaps relevant to some personal software development decisions.

The Moon is a harsh Mistress.