After living an extreme minimalistic life for 5 years during college (for almost a year, I didn't even have a bed), truly minimalistic living is only a fantasy that looks good when imagined. People get disillusioned about acquire material goods, and start to think that losing all these stuff would do them good. In reality, it won't change your life that radically as you've imagined. In fact, you're more likely to realized that things you have around you provide comfort and pleasant experience you normally take for granted. In North America, a dose of minimalism may help many people's lives today, but it won't change them very much.
You can read about how I lived in those 5 years in a bit more detail here (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5371702).