On the Theory and History of Ideological Production promotes the existence of an 'ideological unconscious', understood primarily as a product of social relations, not of the Ideological State Apparatus.

To make this case, Malcolm K. Read focuses on the transition from feudalism to capitalism, as theorised by the Spanish Marxist and former student of Althusser, Juan Carlos Rodrguez. He shows that theorization of the 'ideological unconscious' presupposes a change of terrain from the individual/society opposition to a problematic based on the 'social formation'. On the Theory and History of Ideological Production assesses Rodrguez's influential work alongside that of his contemporaries, Fredric Jameson, Noam Chomsky, Terry Eagleton, Roy Bhaskar, Slavoj iek, and others.