Open AccessThis essay offers a theological critique of contemporary attempts to economically price the earth. It does so by drawing an analogy between pricing and the biblical act of ‘naming.’ In particular, this essay considers two forms of naming found in scripture: 1) the human person’s task of naming the animals, as described in Gen. 2:19; and 2) the work of ‘name-taking’ via census (here I focus especially on the Lukan account’s reference to the Roman imperial census).The rationality underlying each of these forms of naming is examined leading to the conclusion that the act of naming in Genesis is shaped by the desire to serve that which is named, while the act of naming in Luke is shaped by the desire to press that which is named into service. The essay concludes by arguing that the dominant regime of pricing and earth management bears a strong resemblance to the dominative logic that characterizes the Roman imperial census.
doi: 10.7833/111-1-11