The reason is that the complexity of the world is increasing, including the scale of the problems. It is hard to be perspicacious with such a vast influx of information, and it is therefore comforting and hopeful to look back on a past from which one can extrapolate and understand causality. In other words, we may be trying to unearth the essence of bygone eras in an attempt to see the way forward.

"History doesnt repeat itself, but it often rhymes"