Societal management, although important for the development and democratization of the State, is not yet recognized as a theoretical model of public administration, and academic studies on this subject remain few in number. The principal aim of this study, bearing in mind its exploratory perspective, is to study societal apathy and its externalities in local development. To this end, it seeks to answer the following question: how is it possible to understand whether there is a symbiotic overlap between societal apathy and its externalities in local development? In methodological terms, this aspect is based on the purposes of exploratory and explanatory research and the means of bibliographic research. The results show that societal apathy has a direct impact on local/regional development due to the lack of inspection by society with regard to public management, generating negative externalities. Consequently, patrimonialist political interests prevail over collective interests.