This text represents an atempt to deal with the university experience placing it between the two liberalisms; one from the founders of USP, which is called lllustrated Liberalism, and the other one, that is the recent neo-liberalism. In this way, this text organizes topics and outlines a comparative reflection concerning the history and Institution of the Brazilian university, and more often of USP, highlighting the period between 1930 's and nowadays. This text tries to understand the transformation of an inicial project and its final project, which is being implemented nowadays due to a modern rationalization. In other words, the objective of this text is to understand the present situation of the university, and the compromises of whom, in some way, attached their lives to the destiny of the Institution.
liberalism; educational politics; university project; history; ideology; technocracy