Simplicity in systems is rarely the result of minimal code. It is the result of constrained decisions.
When the substrate is stable, complexity has nowhere to hide. Most architectures fail not because they are underpowered, but because they are over-permissive.
Restraint as Design
A good system resists ornament. It allows extension without inviting chaos. That tension is where craft lives.
The goal is not to remove features. The goal is to remove unnecessary variance.