Why did Adam Ferguson warn about alienation caused by labour?

In the context of the Scottish Enlightenment, Adam Ferguson expressed concern that the extreme division of labour could lead to the degradation of the human character and social cohesion.

While thinkers like Adam Smith highlighted the economic efficiency of breaking tasks into simple, repetitive components, Ferguson feared that this process would alienate individuals from the broader purpose of their work and their role as active citizens. He argued that when a worker’s contribution is reduced to a narrow, mechanical task, they lose the opportunity to exercise their judgment, creativity, and civic engagement. For Ferguson, who emphasized that society is the wellspring of human morals and the human condition, this specialization threatened to turn individuals into mere instruments of production, ultimately undermining the intellectual and moral development necessary for a healthy, participatory civil society.12