The Vertical Mosaic : An Analysis of Social Class and Power in Canada, 50th Anniversary Edition

John Porter’s landmark study of social and ethnic inequality, The Vertical Mosaic , became an instant classic when it was first published in 1965. A national best seller that sold more than 100,000 copies, the book was the first major study of Canada’s class structure and one of the foundational texts in Canadian sociology. Sociologist Irving Louis Horowitz described it as “ the sociological study of present-day Canada.” Fifty years later, the book retains vast significance both for its powerful critique of social exclusivity in a country that prides itself on equality and diversity and for its influence on generations of sociological researchers. The 50th Anniversary Edition features new material which contextualizes the legacy of this important book: a foreword by Porter’s colleague, Wallace Clement, and his biographer, Rick Helmes-Hayes, and a new introductory essay by historian Jack Jedwab and sociologist Vic Satzewich. Foreword: Locating The Vertical Mosaic Introductory Essay: John Porter's The Vertical Mosaic, 50 Years Later Preface Contents List of Tables List of Figures PART I: THE STRUCTURE OF CLASS I. Class and Power: The Major Themes II. Class, Mobility, and Migration III. Ethnicity and Social Class IV. Classes and Incomes V. Rural Decline and New Urban Strata VI. Social Class and Educational Opportunity PART II: THE STRUCTURE OF POWER VII. Elites and the Structure of Power VIII. The Concentration of Economic Power IX. The Economic Elite and Social Structure X. The Structure of Organized Labour XI. The Labour Elite XII. The Canadian Political System XIII. The Political Elite XIV. The Federal Bureaucracy XV. The Ideological System: The Mass Media XVI. The Ideological System: The Higher Learning and the Clergy XVII. Relations between Elites I. Class and Social Structure: Tables and Figures II. The Concentration of Economic Power III. How the Other Elites Were Selected Index