Jacobinism’s constructive popular-mass content was split from its destructive sectarian image.

Evidence

In political language the two aspects of Jacobinism were split, and the term “Jacobin” came to be used for a politician who was energetic, resolute and fanatical, because fanatically convinced of the thaumaturgical virtues of his ideas, whatever they might be. This definition stressed the destructive elements derived from hatred of rivals and enemies, more than the constructive one derived from having made the demands of the popular masses one’s own; the sectarian element of the clique, of the small group, of unrestrained individualism, more than the national political element. — Antonio Gramsci, Selections from the Prison Notebooks, 447

Categorization

• DEFINE: Distinguishes two senses of ‘Jacobin’: constructive mass-alliance politics vs. derogatory sectarian fanaticism.