As he conflates the notions of Christian duty and Charity with the role of government, he writes:

Thompson’s argument reflects an anti-government extremism, which I am sure his defenders would call a belief in limited government. In this case, Thompson is limiting government to a half-full thimble. Its duties apparently do not extend to the treatment of sick people in extreme poverty, which should be “the role of us as individuals and as Christians.” One wonders, in his view, if responding to the 2004 tsunami should also have been a private responsibility.

Per sources linked from Wikipedia, private American donors, foundations and NGOs gave nearly twice as much toward tsunami relief as the U.S. government’s $950 million commitment.