Government theoretically could solve everything but it requires good government to do so. The first step is what I stated above, respect for private property rights. If people cannot be assured their product of their work is theirs to use you cannot improve the society they live in. They must be able to trust their government.
Just because the Soviet Union fell over doesn't mean that capitalism has somehow been proven to be "the best solution".
>Just because the Soviet Union fell over doesn't mean that capitalism has somehow been proven to be "the best solution".
Name one country implemented socialism (and by that I mean the government owns the means of production) and didn't end up worse off than when it started. Even the Northern European welfare states are capitalist.
edit: My above interpretation isn't quite right. It should be "its state as of the latest known point in time the predicate was true."
In an alternative universe we tax people more and ensure malaria eradication _whether or not Bill Gates personally decides to do so_.
There are obviously coordination problems (not saying that "government can solve everything!", there are difficulties there too). But having huge organizations ask for donations from people is a really ineffective way of solving most societal problems.