“Dare!”: the word has become a polysemous injunction of present-day militancy – the explicit motto of every elite institution, but also of radical activists and inspired esoteric-seekers… all exceling in the omission of the object complement: what is there to dare, exactly? A commonplace answer, with every appearance of a sleight-of-hand, would be to “dare to change,” the complementation opening onto a new layer of ambiguity: changing lives and daring to live – or the opposite; daring to know others and changing oneself – or the opposite; changing now and daring all the time – or the opposite… Whichever way! Down with quibblers! Since modern history, with its eighteenth-century second wind, has turned intensity into a rallying cry, social salvation must be sought one way or another by surpassing oneself – what has become the corner stone of such a daunting construction as the pursuit of collective achievement. Subverting the figure of the classical gentleman, the modern, intrepid individual recycles the parable of the talents, owing his respectability stripes to what degree of audacity he can display.

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