The beauty of WordPress to me is that you can install it for just about anybody and they pick it up right away. Te plugin ecosystem is fantastic for specialized functionality.
I don't really agree with the OP that all of the workflow functionality belongs in the core. If he thinks this is something a lot of users want, why doesn't he write a plugin? If he's right (and maybe he is..?) then it would be a huge hit.
If more hooks are needed to allow plugin developers to implement these things and make WordPress more competitive with enterprise CMS systems, I would support that. But I would not support adding a bunch of complexity to the core.
I don't really agree with the OP that all of the workflow functionality belongs in the core. If he thinks this is something a lot of users want, why doesn't he write a plugin? If he's right (and maybe he is..?) then it would be a huge hit.
If more hooks are needed to allow plugin developers to implement these things and make WordPress more competitive with enterprise CMS systems, I would support that. But I would not support adding a bunch of complexity to the core.