Minarchism is so similar to classical liberalism, which is what the United States of America was founded on, that I would lump them together for argument's sake. Doesn't the state of affairs in the US is proof enough that classical liberalism was a failed experiment, since emotional issues have been known to us to blind people to principles of liberty, and henceforth the proposal of minarchism is not feasible?
No. Minarcism (and its 18th century cousin) is not a failure. It was abandoned through a slow process by people who had a vague understanding of federal power. State legislatures gave away certain things to get others. As time went on, the feds power grew and states stagnated because the common mentality looks at larger (fed) being safer and stronger than smaller (states).
Its greed, really. The machinery of state government, and thus the people, would like to put in one dollar and get two back. Thats why all the senators and congressmen always say "We'll get the funding from the government" and everyone says YAY!... Especially when things go really bad, like Katrina. But routinely, the federal dollars are jockied around for pork projects that are funded at the expense of the other 49 states, and may the best man win is the attitude of the elected representatives in Washington.
So, they tax you 'til it hurts and give with one hand and take with the other. Then, they dangle the carrot whereby the states have to meet the demands of the feds to recieve the dollars they are addicted to. A good example of that is the speed limits and BAC requirements for drunk driving. Both are enacted on a state level, but at the demand of the feds under the threat of budgetary slashing if the guidelines are not met. 55 was the standard, and .10 for BAC (thats blood alcohol content for you youngns'), and if not made the state maximums, highway funding would be cut. So, all the states complied. Then a new standard was imposed of .08 BAC, and the states complied under the threat of highway funding cuts. Its encroachment. Most reciently, the 55 rule has been lifted in rural areas, mostly because of the more fuel efficient vehicles on todays roads and the impact that speed had on commerce, it took longer for products to reach their destinations and that made the prices inflated for the consumer. So, now you see 65. How generous.