The Vertical Mosaic: An Analysis of Social Class and Power in Canada (Studies in the Structure of Power: Decision-Making in Canada, 2)

This book looks at two important aspects in Canadian society: its class structure and the composition of its elites or power holding groups. A recurring theme in the analysis of both class and elite groups is that Canada has found itself in the middle of the twentieth century with inadequate institutional arrangements for the industrial society it has become. Its educational systems have failed to provide the necessary skills which in large measure have been recruited through immigration. Its elites have been drawn largely from middle and upper class "British charter groups." The author further submits that the strong emphasis in the Canadian value system on regionalism and ethnic differentiation has resulted in the fragmentation of the society, particularly at the political level, and lef tit incapable of dealing with some of its major problems as an industrial society.

Although this is a sociological study in which evidence in related to social theory, the author has tried to avoid technical terms, and this, together with the particular relevance at the present time of a discussion of the nature of Canadian society, will make this book interesting to laymen as well as specialists.

John Porter is Professor of Sociology and Director of the Social Sciences Division, Faculty of Arts, in Carleton University, Ottawa.