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

by John Porter, Wallace Clement, Jack Jedwab

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."

Genres: Nonfiction, Canada

688 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1965

Reviews

[Mascifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exemplifies the hard limit to practically applying weberian class analysis. Still it would be nice if books like this remained capable of topping best-seller lists in Canada.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

**Read for my 2022 political sociology comprehensive exams*
2.5. I FINALLY finished this behemoth of a book. I recognize that it's a pretty foundational text in Canadian political sociology, but it was not a very enjoyable read. Useful, yes, although I disagreed with some of the authors conclusions and definitely felt like some of it was outdated. Though it was interesting to see how some things changed and others very much have not in Canadian society since the writing of this in the 60s.

[Czarny Pies · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a classic of its time. It showed that Canada was a class society. The universities, business, political parties, the legal profession,government bureaucracies, the accounting profession, the cultural organizations and most other elites in Canada were dominated by Anglo-Saxon protestants. Thus the book gave license to socialists to claim that Canada was a country with an unjust class system while non-Wasps could claim that they were frozen out of positions of power.

While there was certainly some truth to what John Porter had to say he may have overstated the his case. Conservatives would have said that he was exaggerating while socialists would have said that the situation was worse.

In the fifty years that have passed since this book was published, Canada has changed. The WASPs in Canada have merged with the Canadians of Central and Southern European descent Canadians of Asian descent are in the process of disappearing into the same melting pot. Canada is still far from perfect but it is unquestionably a more inclusive and open society than it was in 1960. The Vertical Mosaic however still has value for the thoroughness with which it describes what once was.