He knows the other reasons to use free software all boil down to privacy and security

That is not true. If a program does not do what we want (bugs, missing feature), we want to be free to address the problem (both individually and collectively). The problem is not necessarily a security issue. We consider that any user deserves to be in control of the work she achieves through computing. The freedom to modify programs is a necessary part of it. Why do we consider that "any user deserves to be in control of the work she achieves through computing"? Because it is the right thing. It is ethics. It does not need to be explained. It is a principle.

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