Introduction

In December of 1799, George Washington started complaining of a sore throat and difficulty breathing. Doctors drained two and a half liters of his blood before he eventually passed away less than two days after first complaining about a sore throat. Medical specialists have argued about the actual illness that caused Washington's breathing difficulties, but all doctors today universally agreed that removing that much blood from someone didn't help the situation. Are we those 18th century doctors trying our best to fix economies only to do more harm than good? Or is our collective knowledge of economics close to complete with only minor improvements left to make?