I did follow Leo and his band of minimalist copycats for a while and as much as I hate to admit this (I am actually cringing at this point!!) I thought that by being a copycat myself I might just find a way out of corporate prison, not through minimalism but through promoting the concept, which my conscience started to question and your post confirmed this and gave me a much needed wake up call!!! Thank you.
As for minimalism...well, I don't have the luxury of a 5,000 + sq ft mansion. In fact the size of my flat (apartment) is best described as as decent sized hotel room making minimalism (or less stuff) a necessity rather than a choice..
I do love the minimalist style of the MacBook too or perhaps simplicity is a better word...

I tried as hard as I could and dislocated my left shoulder creating a slight imbalance! However, I see this as a good thing because I heard some guru once say that "balance is bogus"