The most important effect of Rome's expansion was the displacement of plebeians from their homes. Most were free farmers working small family plots. Others were craftsmen. As Rome expanded, it frequently enslaved the people it conquered. As these slaves were brought back to the Roman markets, they began to compete with the free Romans. Patricians and large estate owners, using slave labor, undermined the smaller family farms. Craftsmen and even educators were also pushed out of their jobs by slaves having similar skills.

As unemployment rose among these groups, they tended to migrate more and more to Rome itself. As a potentially explosive group, Roman politicians found it expedient to pacify this group with free food/bread, and by paying for games to entertain them(circuses). Thus over a few centuries the Roman plebeians were turned from a productive, essential part of Roman society into a largely parasitic drain on Rome's economy.