In reply to jammasterjay:
Ofcourse it has made it safer not only can we place more but it's also more likely to be relieble, especially with all this 3 sigma rated gear etc. In the old days the moto of the climbers pushing the limits was more akin to that of ice climbing.... Don't fall. Nowadaze I climb with people who if they've placed good gear will treat it like a sports climb, and may actually let go of the rock and take deliberate falls rather than cling on for dear life.
As for would the boundaries have been pushed so far, well probably as the top end stuff is often very under protected and dangerous anyway. I think there would be less moderate climbers tho', who basically want a fun safish experience, and this would in turn lead to less top end climbers but they would still exist, no doubt about that.