"What the market will bear..."
I don't know that the LP is "more of an instrument" than a Strat - never heard or thought that. Maybe it is because the LP is a set neck and Strat is bolt-on.
To me the differences are the tone and the scale length. I never was a Gibson guy (shorter scale length) so I've never owned one...only Fender and other related 25.5" scale guitars (like Ernie Ball).
They are both hunks of wood that are routed for electronics then assembled. Quality is variable as are the materials. I've found that price doesn't really indicate the "real" playability and tone of the instrument. I've played custom shop guitars that I thought sucked hard, and Mexi strats that were rather "magic." Just depends on the luck of the draw. Back when I used to turn my gear every 6-9 months, I would end up playing 20 or 30 seemingly identical Strats to find "the one." The only generalization I could make is that the more you paid the more consistent the workmanship was and the higher the "good" to "bad" ratio.
That said I haven't bought an instrument in over 8 years as I haven't found anything better than the Zon basses I've got, even though I play some very nice acoustics from time to time I can't complain about my Martin OM-21, and I don't play my electric parts strat enough to warrant buying a "good" one.
GAS is a disease...just say no
