No principle exists in a vacuum. In practice, all are balanced against other principles.
Let's run with your "software should be free" as an example. Licenses like the GPL family apparently work against that, in that they add restrictions. But so-called "viral" licenses aim to maximize a different kind of freedom for a larger number of less powerful players. Some call this hypocritical, but it's just balancing principles while taking into account outcomes.
Another way to put it is that principles for most aren't religious commandments; they're mental tools to push the world toward a set of preferred results.
Let's run with your "software should be free" as an example. Licenses like the GPL family apparently work against that, in that they add restrictions. But so-called "viral" licenses aim to maximize a different kind of freedom for a larger number of less powerful players. Some call this hypocritical, but it's just balancing principles while taking into account outcomes.
Another way to put it is that principles for most aren't religious commandments; they're mental tools to push the world toward a set of preferred results.