This article reports on an investigation into the relationship between people's perspectives and ideologies and interest groups with their respective conceptions and perceptions of higher education. The aim is to show that the contemporary understanding of purposes and quality in higher education originate, fundamentally, in the most important ideological dichotomy of our age: left versus right. By summarizing literature and documentary analyses, the author seeks primarily to demonstrate the ideological roots of two current conceptions of higher education: as a public good, and as a commercial service. It is argued that such conceptions connect two main quality views about higher education: one emphasizes the social aspect, and the other focuses on the economic aspect. Finally, the "middle way" is proposed as a desirable alternative to these views.