RMS strikes me as the kind of guy who is constantly arguing against himself, and playing the devil's advocate. In many speeches[1], he is not just setting up strawmen to fight his position, but is actively adopting other mindsets he does not agree with in order to explain concepts to an audience.

But he's very good at stating his own (biased) opinion.

1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNBMdDaYhZA