And all the time the farms grew larger and the owners fewer. And there were pitifully few farmers on the land any more. And the imported serfs were beaten and frightened and starved until some went home again, and some grew fierce and were killed or driven from the country. And the farms grew larger and the owners fewer.
– John Steinbeck
The Grapes of Wrath, Chapter 19. Steinbeck laments the demise of the family farm, as farmers turn to a more capitalistic model of farming. This change leads to bigger farms, fewer farmers, and imported foreign workers being starved and treated as little better than slaves.