A Piece of Land To Call One's Own

The Intersecting Idea of C.R. Wiley and Aaron Renn

Pompey the Great, one of Ancient Rome’s greatest generals, promised his legions land grants after they returned from a military campaign against King Mithridates. As Grok tells me, “A typical land grant for a Roman veteran could range from 10 to 50 iugera (1 iugerum being about 0.623 acres) depending on rank and service.” The average low-ranking legionnaire would probably have been rewarded around 10 acres of fertile Italian land.

A few years after Pompey’s gifts, Rome descended into civil war when Caesar crossed the Rubicon. Pompey had been generous with his troops to buy their loyalty for when he needed it. It worked. Pompey’s legions followed him into battle against Julius Caesar. They fought for Pompey because they were loyal to him, but, because of Pompey’s gift, the legions also had their own piece of land to fight for. If we’re to fight for God and be a blessing to others the way Pompey’s men fought for him—through thick and thin—then property ownership is a thing today’s Christians ought to pursue. When it comes to vocation, next to becoming a missionary or building a church it may be the best thing.

Two modern leaders in the online sphere of conservative Christianity actually agree on the point of strategic ownership: Aaron Renn and C.R. Wiley.

When I first read C.R. Wiley’s Man of the House (2017) a few years ago his book hit a chord that has never stopped sounding. He says,

“When you acquire productive property it changes you. You work with it and shape it. Naturally, it reflects you, like any work of art reflects its maker. But it also has a way of shaping and making you. It demands things of you: determination, resilience, honesty, thrift, practical wisdom…Productive property is a school of virtue.”

Similarly, Aaron Renn writes an entire chapter in his book Life in the Negative World (2024) called “Pursue Ownership.” He says,

“Because of the growing challenges and pressures of the negative world environment, Christians will need to put more focus on acquiring ownership over many of the key aspects of our lives. I believe ownership will be increasingly important in three areas: economic, that is, scalable, wealth-generating businesses; social and cultural, especially ‘third place’ gathering spots like coffee shops; and physical, that is to say, real estate.”

Renn’s focus is on creating environments and cultures that are resilient against the harm of the broader, secularized society, and encourages Christians to weigh the risks when considering what to do to make money. He says,

“People who work in a corporate job have good reason to fear they might lose their job if they say the wrong thing or decline to participate in employer social initiatives that conflict with their conscience.”

As Wiley says, the ownership of productive property produces virtue, and, as Renn says, it can insulate a Christian who is often put in the position of having to dissent from modern conceptions of life. I’d argue that productive property doesn’t only provide these positive incentives and protections, but, as I speculate it did for Pompey’s men, gives Christians ground to love and fight for.

To own land means to have skin in the game in a local environment. A person with skin in the game is more likely to be involved in bettering the community and town they live in, is likely to be more vocal and to pursue and uphold justice. When one’s own prospects are wrapped up in the prospects of their neighbors, they are incentivized to work for each other’s reciprocal good. But, as Wiley points out, “That doesn’t mean property owners are faultless.” They are just “more likely to need virtue in the course of daily life if they are going to survive.” When things go awry, it’s helpful for Christians to have worked hard to produce things that can be a blessing to others, but also a piece of ground they identify with. Because, as Lewis says while paraphrasing the English Writer Samuel Johnson, “To be happy at home is the end of all human endeavour.” This doesn’t always mean physical fighting, but it means upholding and advocating for biblical principles and justice in one’s community.

Having a place to call home also helps buoy an individual against the vicissitudes of life. George Washington certainly felt this way, when, during the long, hard days of the early American Revolution he mentally soothed himself by writing detailed letters to his land overseer at his Mt. Vernon Estate. He wrote instructions from his war tent on where to plant fruit trees and what the best place for a carriage path was only a few days before the Battle of Long Island. In 1790, after the war had ended, he said in a letter to his friend, “I can truly say I had rather be at Mount Vernon with a friend or two about me, than to be attended at the Seat of Government by the Officers of State and the Representatives of every Power in Europe.” His love for his own home was greater than any wish he had for the powers or glory of the state, which is how powerful the love of home can be. It’s the purpose of politics itself.

Renn and Wiley’s advice is good, and it’s backed by historical examples and common sense. They offer a call to action, particularly for young, Christian, conservative men. Young men, they suggest, should be using their energies to build homes and businesses while serving the Lord. If a person develops their capacity to put order to things in life—a house, a family, a business, or even just his bed—those acts create the potential for good things to accumulate and expand exponentially over time. And, Christians who have the blueprint on how to glorify God and enjoy him forever (in the form of his revealed word) can create the best environments. To pursue ownership is a blessing, not only to that person, but to the wider community. Ownership and the stability that comes with it gives Christians the best strategic ground to be salt and light on the earth. However, it mostly gives a person something they care enough about to fight for—and that’s important to buttress Christians in a culture that’s largely antithetical to our mores.