The Incredible Shrinking God

LOVE OR LIBIDO This cult of the hero not only warped the guru but it warped the teachings as well. Freud's image in America as the source of sexual liberation is a striking example.

"America embraced Freudianism in a spirit that Freud himself found ridiculous," Crews says. While Freud himself had mixed feelings about sexual freedom, America has always been about overthrowing the past. In the 20th century, when we discarded the mores of our sexually puritanical past, we needed somebody to personify that, someone who could give a scientific and medical blessing to the idea that unqualified sexual freedom is a good thing.

"What Freud wanted was more civilization," says Crews. "But people didn't care. They cared about finding someone to validate the tendency that they were already inclined to follow." And this is, after all, one of the main reasons that people seek out gurus in the first place.