‘They don't know what they're doing.’ Epistemic divides and rural consciousness in Switzerland

Established frameworks of rural resentment help explain right-wing voting behavior and anti-establishment attitudes, but they struggle to account for the rural link to skepticism toward expert knowledge, anti-intellectualism, and resistance to policies in knowledge-intensive fields such as agriculture, climate regulation, and public health. Drawing on group discussions in six rural Swiss communities, this study addresses that gap by demonstrating how rural consciousness operates not merely as a moral system—rooted in traditional values and rural lifestyles—but also as a distinct epistemic framework . Through thematic analysis of seven group discussions, three core themes emerge—proximity to nature, hands-on (practical) work, and common sense—that legitimize traditional, experience-based rural knowledge while disqualifying scientific, expert-driven knowledge. Far from mere anti-intellectualism, these findings reveal a deeper epistemic divide between locally embedded forms of knowledge, closely associated with rural areas, and abstract, overtly academic expertise, typically linked to urban centers. Distinguishing the moral and epistemic dimensions of rural consciousness helps clarify how contrasting knowledge claims shape political and policy attitudes in contemporary knowledge societies, ultimately contributing both empirical insights and conceptual refinement to the literature on the urban–rural divide, rural consciousness, and place-based resentment. • Analyzes Swiss rural group discussions using thematic analysis. • Links expert skepticism to the epistemic dimension of rural consciousnes • Identifies nature, hands-on work, and common sense as core epistemic themes. • Shows how epistemic divides shape opposition to climate, health, and farm policies. • Extends rural resentment research with an explicit epistemic perspective.