Does "Minimalist Government" Exist?

The thoughts just keep on rolling! But I think this will be the last one on "Minimalist" philosophies for a while because I have some other things to talk to you about.

Let me remind you that I am still working through these things. As far as I can figure it, a Minimalist is the ultimate clutter reducer. Leo Babauta describes it this way: “Minimalism isn’t about having or doing nothing – it’s about making room in your life for the things you love doing most. In this way, by getting rid of all the clutter in our lives – physical clutter and commitments – we are freeing ourselves, so that we can focus on what truly matters, and not all the extra crap people tend to do and have for no good reason”. You can read some more interesting discussions on that here, here and here. Note: Use your right-click and "Open in New Tab" feature on Firefox so you don't get lost and forget to finish this article that started you off.

As I said before, Leo takes things further than I am willing to go. But these philosophies fit quite well with Buddhism and Christianity because both discourage fondness for (and clinging to) possessions. Minimalism seems to be a state of mind. That means it will have an effect on just about every aspect of your life.

Is there such a thing as Minimalist government? Frankly, the terms create an oxymoron. By its nature today, government is big, bulky, cumbersome and pervasive. Minimalism could conceivably lead its practitioner to anarchy, where there is no government and everyone does what is right in their own minds. That would lead to chaos and violence, so anarchy is right out.

Leftism, or liberalism, in the USA is only slightly better than anarchy. But liberal government keeps getting bigger and more invasive, eventually collapsing under its own weight. It seems to me that an honest Minimalist would want to shun liberalism. The "green" movement, with its pseudo-religious chant of "reduce your carbon footprint" is liberalism in action, creating more government involvement and intrusion in our lives. You want to live "green", fine. But don't force the rest of us to buy into any of your philosophies with unnecessary laws.

Also, vegetarians are, in my experience, usually liberals as well. Hey, if you do not want to eat meat or any animal products at all ("vegans"), that's up to you. That's your choice. It's not my choice. By the way, did you notice that some of your teeth care called "canine"? Yep, your teeth are made for eating meat. That means you have no right to pretend to be morally superior to those of us who use our teeth in the way that they were designed. So, I don't want you telling me what I can eat, and I do not want the government making more and more laws to force me to act in a manner that is "green" enough, capice?

Bluntly, an intellectually and emotionally honest Minimalist would become a Conservative. We want to conserve the Constitution of the United States. We want to help people, but do not want to create reliance on the government. We want less government. Less is better. And that fits quite well in with a Minimalist philosophy.

Addendum: Jim DeMint reportedly said on February 18, 2010, ""Reducing the size and scope of the fed government is the only way to truly cut spending."