Delirium-
This could all be done on the Wiki, but if the stable distribution is to be anything but a tiny subset of Wikipedia, I think some more software would be necessary. Some automated method by which the software keeps track of submissions and comments would be helpful. One possible method -- anyone can nominate a particular version of an article, and anyone can post replies to the nomination that are tagged either "support" or "oppose" (or "neutral"). Any nomination with no "oppose" comments within some certain period of time is automatically added to the stable version; the ones with opposing comments are dealt with more manually in the usual wiki way, added if it's been determined a consensus has been reached, or the nomination withdrawn if a consensus against is reached.
It is hard to say whether such an addition would actually simplify things, since every new interface is a new barrier to entry. On the other hand, if it would make things easier, it should be part of the standard Wikipedia software, because it would be useful for semi-automating other Wiki processes as well -- "Votes for deletion", "Requests for adminship" etc. If "Brilliant prose" does not scale as a selection mechanism, then "Votes for deletion" does not scale as a deletion mechanism -- the two are virtually identical in terms of process.
It is harder to find solutions that are well integrated into our existing wiki framework than to start a separate project, but the potential benefits are far greater, especially because there will inevitably by <marketing>synergy effects</marketing> for the project as a whole.
Regards,
Erik