Autobiographical and alluring, Jolyon Maugham portrays his uneasy relationship with the establishment in Bringing Down Goliath, which speaks to people who believe in the power of public law. He reveals that his vision is to give power to the underdogs, or David, in reference to the title, which alludes to the classic story of David and Goliath. Maugham’s reference to Goliath is an indirect reference to the people in power that haven’t been held to account, which is the driving force that led him to creating the Good Law Project in 2017.
The talk began with Maugham getting candid with the audience when he reflected on his life from childhood to tax lawyer to founding the Good Law Project. He talks of his adoptive father throwing him out when he was 15 years old and how he relocated from New Zealand to the UK with a desire for normalcy after an abusive relationship with the patriarchy. When he relocated, he met his biological father for the first time. He depicts a specific moment that surprised him about his father, an upper-class man, which was that he did not care to know what life was like in a coal-mining village. Maugham remembers this to be his connection with the working class, that he reveals he can now no longer connect with in his place of privilege. He talks of how his adolescent hardships led him to have conventional aspirations that led him to become a tax lawyer, as he desperately wanted to fit in.
It took Maugham over a decade as a tax lawyer to realise that he didn’t want to do it any longer. Abuses of power in a constitutional setting became his fundamental interest, developed from abuses of power that he brutally experienced as a teenager. Now, he wants to give a voice to the voiceless. He is angry at people who lack humanity.
Maugham gave an eye-opening portrayal of what he is fighting for when he spoke of the statue atop London’s Old Bailey. The statue is blindfolded and holding a pair of scales that suggest equality in law separate from political influence, which Maugham believes to be inaccurate. He focuses on collectivising the law for public means, as the law often mirrors the government’s political preference. He expresses that the Good Law Project is an antidote of the notion that law is a victory dance of power.
Overall, Maugham’s voice is powerful, yet puzzling. I was particularly perplexed with a couple of his responses to the reader’s questions. One reader asked him about law and order surrounding crimes such as burglary and theft. Maugham’s response was not entirely clear, as he said that he disagreed with the reader’s outlook but did not give a specific reason why nor suggest a solution. He mentioned that the reader’s problem pertained to people in communities that are often deprived, which he mentioned earlier on that he fails to connect with anymore because of his place of privilege.
Aside from this, Maugham weaved humorous commentary into his talk that kept the audience engaged and entertained. This book is definitely one that I would recommend for people with an interest in changing how public law can hold powerful people to account.
Rating: ★★★★☆
Bringing Down Goliath was published in April 2023. Other Off the Shelf Festival events can be found here.
