This paper examines Kurt Vonnegut’s “Harrison Bergeron” and “2 B R 0 2 B” through Friedrich Nietzsche’s concept of “untruth as the condition of life.” Nietzsche challenges the conventional understanding of truth by arguing that human beings depend upon socially constructed concepts, conventions, and systems of knowledge to make existence intelligible and sustainable. Vonnegut’s dystopian short stories extend this philosophical concern into the social and political sphere by depicting societies in which such constructed truths become institutionalised and enforced as unquestionable principles. In “Harrison Bergeron,” the ideal of equality is transformed into a mechanism for suppressing individual difference, while in “2 B R 0 2 B,” population control reduces birth and death to regulated numerical exchanges in the name of collective welfare. Through these dystopian structures, Vonnegut reveals the contradiction inherent in life-preserving ideals when they become instruments of state control. The paper argues that Vonnegut does not merely illustrate Nietzsche’s understanding of untruth but develops it further by demonstrating the political consequences of treating socially constructed truths as absolute. The two stories consequently expose the tension between collective ideals and individual autonomy and demonstrate how systems created to preserve life can simultaneously produce forms of violence, conformity, and oppression.

Nandini Lohia, "From Untruth to Dystopia: Nietzsche and Vonnegut on the Construction of Truth" International Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences Research Studies, V1(4): Page(37-41) September-October 2026. ISSN: 3139-0854. www.ijhssrs.com. Published by Scientific and Academic Research Publishing.