Changing a system while being a part of it

Can a person change the "system" from within, being a part of the "system"? Many idealistic young men and women  attempt to do it.They join  the civil services with a view to change the "system" which includes not only the civil services but also the political system as also the lager society.My answer is that they cannot change the system while being a part of the very system .Why?

                 The reason is that civil servants are required to obey the  service conduct rules.These conduct rules  put several   severe  restrictions on what they can say or do in public  , and what  they cannot.Any violation of conduct rules can be punished , with suspension .These conduct rules and their alleged violations  make the civil servants quite vulnerable , and drastically reduces their capacity to  take up  fights with vested interests.

                      Further , it also raises several ethical issues including the accountability of civil servants to the government of the day.Many decisions of the government may be morally indefensible but may not be illegal.Such decisions have to be implemented by the civil servants.Under the existing scheme of things , the government is accountable to the legislature, and not the civil servants per se.

                   The moral is that if someone wants to change the  "system",he or she  needs to do it by coming out of the government .And then   he or she may  try to change the mindset of the public which  accepts and creates this 'system'.Otherwise , such attempts at change  are likely to fail.