What is the purpose of government?

The purpose of the government is to serve and protect the people by any means necessary. That's where the specificity stops. The means of carrying out that first sentence is up for interpretation. Should the federal government be involved in people's lives? To what degree should they be involved? How much should they leave us alone? What is considered immoral? Not only does the government have the duty to serve and protect the people, it also has to answer all of those questions and act in a way that best serves the people. The government has a very taxing, complicated job.