There are many, competing views on what government is suppose to do. From the minimum of contract enforcement and private property protection to social welfare and heavy regulation. Republicans, Democrats, Libertarians, Communists, etc... Everyone has some idea as to what they believe a government should do.
In my opinion, most of those views are unnecessarily complicated. Government is not suppose to protect property, it is not suppose to provide social welfare. But it can to both of those things. In my opinion there is inherit job for government. There is no supreme authority that specifically defines the functions of government (that I am aware of anyway). There is no specific function of government.
Government has a very specific function that solely relates to why people came together to form that government in the first place. This of course does not apply to governments formed by a small group or a single individual claiming to have legitimacy where none ever existed (ex. Absolute monarchs claiming to have divine rights). A government like that is not really a government at all, just a farce. (Though technically that government could gain legitimacy if that the lack of legitimacy is not challenged).
The kind of government I want to talk about it one with true legitimacy however, one that is of the people, but the people (at least at in its' inception). A government were individual came together because they knew that they had common interests and they wanted to go about achieving those common interests. This concept lies the true function of government. Problem Solving. Groups of people come together to reach common goals and then trying to reach those goals, whatever they may be.
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