And yet how far off the ground did each one get?
When we honestly reframe the pertinent riterion to be the glory of God, not just the self glory of an abstract freedom, we come to a different conclusion.
And anyhow we have the fallacy of the excluded middle. Europe may be too government centered for the glory of God, but mankind can vastly improve on how it found American Indians. Surely we may discard the bathwater without also discarding the baby.
I’m pretty sure Mr. Jefferson was using the two extremes in order to make a case that fewer laws is better than more laws. I don’t think his intent was to be taken literally.
Regarding the “pertinent criterion” being the glory of God rather than some “abstract freedom”, you appear to have a fundamental misunderstanding of the intended role of the government in the lives of U.S. citizens. Our Constitution is structured to protect individual liberty, not to promote the glory of God.