I never gave my daughter a pacifier becos' I believe she cries because of an unfulfilled need and not because she wants a pacifier. Babies dun know whats a pacifier. So if she needs comfort I hold her or breastfeed her if she is hungry.
Anyway, I dun like the idea of having another item to clean and sterilise (not sure if can sterilise). Since I have to keep my baby's hands clean anyway, she can suck on it if she wants. I have seen mothers drop the pacifier in the carpark or place it anyhow with the sucking part on the table. I dun think it is cleaner than her hands. Plus it looks difficult to clean properly especially when you are out.
In any case, it is natural for babies to explore with their mouth when they are young. My daughter sucks on everything when she was little so in any case, I doubt she would have taken to just sucking on the pacifier. Sucking at that age is also a form of exploration so by limiting her to the pacifier, it is limiting the child's experience. I also read that pacifiers can slow a child's speech development because they have less chance to speak with the thing in the mouth. I have seen really big kids still on pacifier and I think it looks bad because it hides the kids face and promotes their dependence on an object for comfort. It is also stressful to hear comments such as "so old already, still on pacifier?"
None of my friends' kids have pacifiers so I think it is not a must. My kid and none of my friends kids suck on their fingers when they reach toddlerhood. So hey, it is do-able but then again, whats do-able to me may not be do-able to you. Some people use cloth diapers but OMG, it is IMPOSSIBLE for me!