What does the phrase "I would venture to say that..." mean?
In "The More of Less", the book I'm reading now, I encounter this sentence below:

"I would venture to say that most of us already own more than we need."

From the meaning of "venture", I guess the author try to say something risky or counter-intuitive. Am I right?

Question

What does the phrase "I would venture to say that..." mean?
In "The More of Less", the book I'm reading now, I encounter this sentence below:

"I would venture to say that most of us already own more than we need."

From the meaning of "venture", I guess the author try to say something risky or counter-intuitive. Am I right?

Answer

"Venture" in used herein the sense of "dare/be brave," rather than sense of "gamble/risk."

When you venture to say something, you are being bold enough to say it. Usually, it's an opinion -

"May I venture to say how beautiful you look tonight?"

- but not always. "I venture to say" would probably be an overly formal wording for telling your boss's boss that he has a piece of toilet paper stuck to his shoe, but that would be a fact that it might take a lot of courage to state.

Answer

Yes.  The  risk is that he is stating an opinion without any evidence.