A lot of free software was just created by the communal customs throughout this hacker elite programmer community. They're just engineers, everybody liked to share information, and it goes against the hacker mindset to reinvent the wheel.
But Stallman really grafted that onto notions of morality and ethics, and said, "No, this is the way it's suppose to be. It works so well because it is ethical."
Actually using "free" software, I'm not sure how to view its developers as anything but suckers. I would have paid for development and infrastructural software. But I didn't, because there were always suckers out there who thought they were philosophers rather than professionals.
The best thing you can say about free software is that it lowers costs for operating a business. It's the difference between going to Sam's Club rather than Walmart, only moreso. Again, philosophers may disagree.
But Stallman really grafted that onto notions of morality and ethics, and said, "No, this is the way it's suppose to be. It works so well because it is ethical."